Consequences of War
by Lord Hierarch
Summary: Reach has fallen, and humanity is on its death bed. The Pillar of Autumn has fled and is returning to Earth. On Earth, mankind is taking its first step out into the galaxy... through the Stargate.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**.**

**. **

_"Die? Don't you know? Spartans never die." _

—Kurt-051 upon his death.

**. **

0130 Hours, September 19, 2552 (Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser_ Pillar of Autumn, _location unknown

**. **

The _Pillar of Autumn _shuddered as her Titanium-A armor took several direct hits.

'_More hits,' _Keyes thought darkly. '_Thank the Lord they aren't Plasma Torpedoes, or we'd already be free-floating molecules._' Nonetheless, the bolts hitting the already scarred hull of the _Autumn _were carving into it through sheer numbers. They were brutal, lacking the finesse of Covenant weaponry.

The warship had taken a beating from Covenant forces as it fled Reach and it was a miracle that the hull had remained intact from the hits the Covenant had scored. It was even more remarkable that they had managed to jump into Slipstream without losing more than they had. The bulk of the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet hadn't been as fortunate as his ship had been. Most were floating hulks.

"Status!" Keyes barked. "What just hit us?"

"Enemy fighters, sir. Unknown-class," Lieutenant Hikowa replied. Her face darkened at the apparent insult. "Tricky bastards are fast – they slipped past our sentry guards." Keyes held back a drab grin. Hikowa was a rare first-rate officer, utterly merciless in a fight. As the _Pillar of Autumn_'s tactical officer, she took the unknown pilot's actions as a personal affront to her skills.

"Teach them a lesson, Lieutenant."

Hikowa didn't have to reply. He saw her tap a series of orders on her panel – new orders for the _Autumn_'s fighter squadron. A moment later, there was radio chatter as a pair of C709 Longsword fighters went after the rouge spacecraft, firing from their cannons. He watched as the tiny crescent-shaped alien ship transformed into a momentary sun as its shattered parts surged forward.

Keyes let out a sift sigh.

He had followed the Cole Protocol, and plotted a random Slipstream course during Reach's fall. He had hoped to avert the destruction of his ship and the crew, hoping to avoid untimely death. Now, it seemed that the men and women of his cruiser would die either way that they would die here… wherever 'here' was.

He checked his display – they'd reverted back to real space twenty minutes ago. _Twenty minutes_ and already they were engaged in a fight with a unknown alien species. There hadn't been any communication – just instant shooting. It was small mercy that the alien's weaponry weren't as potent as Covenant plasma charges. If the MAC wasn't offline… well, there was no point in wishful thinking.

A 2D map of the engagement appeared before him on the large tactical map, and the sight made him remember the holographic table projectors that had been on the _Iroquois _and _Meriwether Lewis_. The _Pillar of Autumn_'s tactical screen hadn't been upgraded as the rest of the ship had been. It was too integrated into the ship's systems to be removed. There were three main ships, designated capital ships well within the range of the MAC. The _Autumn _was also within their weapon's range too, apparently from the number of hits his ship was taking. While weak, they made up for it in their rate of fire.

"Captain," Hikowa piped up. "Sensors paint thirty enemy fighters inbound. Looks like boarding craft are right behind them."

Keyes grimaced.

"What's the status of Longsword squadron?"

"Five fighters downed, two in need of repair," Hikowa reported.

Keyes simply nodded.

"Have remaining Longsword's launch an attack run on the enemy warships. Recall the two damaged fighters. Cortana, prepare firing solution for the Guns and shoot those bastards down," he ordered, twiddling with the wooden pipe in his pockets. He needed all of the good luck he could get right now.

A foot-high hologram faded into view above a small holopad, again a outdated piece of technology, near the Captain's station. The heart of the _Pillar of Autumn_, Cortana replied, "Firing solution prepared. Targeting enemy craft, target's acquired and firing," she said, snapping her 'fingers' together as she finished.

Red dots rapidly began vanishing.

There were several larger dots behind the dwindling crude figures, presumably the alien's transports. "The transports have energy shielding technology," Cortana remarked. "They're as strong as the shielding on Covenant Seraph Fighters," she added with a mischievous tone. Keyes nodded. The 50mm Point Defense Cannons were more than capable of handling Seraph fighters.

However the issue weren't the fighters – the only threat they possessed were their numbers. The real threats were the capital ships that were slugging away at his ship. They didn't have any more nukes and they had wasted half of their missiles earlier on. The fighters and alien's main weapons had picked them off from afar. They only had one option to survive this engagement.

"What is the status of FTL Drive?"

"Fifteen more minutes until they can be used," Cortana said instantly. "There's a 49% chance that we will survive long enough to enter Slipstream space," she added.

He grimaced at that, and glared at the holographic body of his ship's AI. That last sentence had been utterly unnecessary. Cortana stared at him for a second and then ignored him. More fighters swooped in to add into the meat grinder. "Sir, we've lost Knife 26," a lieutenant remarked from behind. "Longsword's have inflicted moderate damage on one of the enemy ships, sir."

'_One Longsword to inflict damage on a alien ship,_' he thought. That was fair, wasn't it? Unlike Covenant ships thankfully, these ships didn't seem to have energy shields. "The majority of enemy fighters and transports have been neutralized. Shall I prepare a missile salvo?"

"Make it so."

Cortana smiled slightly as she prepared the remaining missiles in their tubes for launch. Without the fighters to pick off their missiles, there was a greater chance they could score direct hits to the enemy ships now. "Turn us around, 90 degree's starboard," he ordered. "Target the closest alien ship and fire missiles in waves of five."

"Target acquired and preparing solutions," Cortana said. She closed her eyes only for a second. "First missile wave is away, preparing second missile wave."

There was nothing he could do but watch from the bridge, watch as the first wave, and then the second wave, streak towards the enemy ship on the screen. The enemy ships were unspeakably large pyramids, lacking any visible sort of engine or weapon emplacements. However they still moved and they still fired despite that. "First missile wave has been destroyed Captain."

There was still the second wave… and the third wave…

"Two missiles struck," Cortana said, "the remaining missiles of the second wave have made contact. Moderate damage to their hulls, third wave should destroy the ship. Preparing solutions for the second and third ships," she went on.

As the ship turned around to face its attackers, he was rewarded by the distant glow of a miniature sun erupt as one of the alien pyramid vessels erupted in a ball of fire. The other two ships continued firing and began to move forward, although a number of their shots went wild. The position the _Autumn _was in meant that she was providing a smaller target for the enemy's pulse weapons. "Two waves away," Hikowa said before Cortana could speak. "Should I recall Longsword's?"

"Do it."

"Sir, we have a hull breach two through four in sections three, four and five are now out of contact sir!" Keyes cursed, even as another alien ship was destroyed by the impact of the Archer Missiles. "One wave destroyed, the other has inflicted minimal damage!"

"Prepare remaining missiles, target that ship," Keyes ordered. "Have the Longswords engage."

"Yes sir."

"Status of FTL Drive?"

"Eight more minutes," Cortana answered.

The Captain watched as missiles streaked towards the floating pyramid, enough firepower to destroy a armored UNSC Cruiser. Like Covenant ships, it took more hits to destroy a alien ship than it did a human one. Unlike Covenant ships, these ships were better at dying. One to three and he still won. Abet with severe damage, but they would be able to survive the transition back to Slipstream. "Once the Drive is ready, plot a course back to Earth," he said wearily. After all this time, he doubted that Covenant ships were going to appear. Earth needed all the ships it could get. There was nothing left between Earth and the Covenant, now that Reach had fallen.

"Yes Captain."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**Wow! That's more reviews than I expected! Thanks for the support. I hope that this chapter lives up to the previous one.  
**

**.**

1300 Hours, October 6, 2552 (Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser_ Pillar of Autumn, _En route to Earth

**. **

The _Autumn _surged through the eddies of Slipstream space, riding its 'waves.' The damage the reactivated cruiser had suffered at Reach and during its engagement with the unknown aliens had affected its slipstream capabilities. Keyes was unwilling to risk the lives of his crew and his ship to shorten the trip back home. When they died, he thought grimly, they would die in battle.

"Time until we exit?"

"Two minutes, Captain," Cortana replied, crossing her slender arms over her chest. Keyes nodded absentmindedly, and took the time to, for the first time in a long time, think about his family. He had missed his daughter's graduation from the OCS Academy and hadn't seen her in more than twenty years. She hadn't replied to any of his messages, ever tried to visit him or make any attempt at contact. There was rift between them, and in that moment he made a promise to do everything he could to make them an l family again.

He had rumors, of course, about his daughter. Miranda 'Steelwall' Keyes some called her. A brave officer, she heard, and a smart woman who was probably and most likely smarter than himself. She had to be in her late twenties by now, and if the rumors were true she was already a Lieutenant Commander and commander of her own ship. She had fought in three engagements with the Covenant already, making her an official veteran of the war.

He sighed miserably.

During the Insurrection, he had done the best he could to shield her from Aftermath report and the news. He hadn't wanted her to join the UNSC; he wanted to protect her from the alluring whispers of the propaganda programs and recruitment ads. But when he left, he couldn't protect her anymore.

'_She's too young,_' he thought. '_She's too innocent,_' she thought adamant in that. '_But she's a soldier, a killer,_' another voice said starkly, '_in war, innocence in the first thing to go. You know that she's alive because others died for her._'

He ignored the voice.

Suddenly he felt a push as the vortex of colors seemed to stretch into infinity and then curl backwards. Tears and rips appeared at the edges of slipstream, and he narrowed his eyes at the beginning formation of an exit window.

There was a lurch as the wounded _Pillar of Autumn_'s brutally tore its way out of Slipstream space. Čerenkov Radiation was emitted as the _Autumn _made its transition into normal space andcreated a small and barely detectable distortion across the electromagnetic spectrum. The engines dimmed as it was thrown out of the spatial irregularity, relying on the nature of the universe to propel it forward. Keyes steadied himself and frowned as the cruiser passed the familiar surface of Jupiter. "We dropped out of Slipspace too soon," he commented, rubbing the length of his wooden pipe in worry, "Why?"

"The Deuterium fusion reactors were beginning to dangerously overheat," she said with a hint of boredom in her tone. She had a distant look in her holographic eyes. "Unless you wanted to arrive at Earth as free floating particles slipping in and out of Slipstream, then tell me so I can prepare for the next time."

The Captain shook his head.

Cortana reminded him of someone… but whom?"

"I thought the new cooling system regulated the amount of excess heat the reactors gave off," he muttered to the AI. Cortana gave him a look and didn't reply. At times, Cortana was a bother to his command. She acted more like a civilian than a proper military AI, not entirely following protocol as a military grade-AI should. "The damage we sustained affected the system and the regulators. You should be _thanking _me that I'm online or this ship would have been destroyed," she unnecessarily added just to prove superiority.

The grimace on Keyes face deepened.

"Are there any _other _damaged systems I should be aware of Cortana," he growled.

The AI looked at him without any fear. There was very little someone in his position could do to threaten the AI. "Port emergency thrusters are offline, and a quarter of our Point Defense Guns have been lost during the transition back into normal space. There are twenty six unaccounted for personal in engineering, Captain," she rattled off.

'_Lost to Slipstream,_' Keyes thought, withholding a shudder. Modern Translight drives were considerably more advanced and refined than the older versions but not by much. A constant haunting for ship engineers/technicians maintaining the FTL Core was that they would be lost in Slipstream.

No one knew where they went.

"Power levels?"

"We have 58% power."

That was acceptable. "Continue on course to Earth," he ordered, "and-"

"Captain?" There was concern in Cortana's tone, which in itself rather unusual. "Sir, I'm not detecting any orbital stations or human colonies in the system."

"What?"

"The Jovian colonies aren't responding to hails," she reported, a disturbed look on her avatar's face. "The Martian and lunar colonies are gone too, and so are the shipyards, space stations, and the unfinished defense grid." Now he was certain there was worry in her tone. Keyes wondered, with mounting fear, if the Covenant had already found Earth and attacked. The crewmembers on the bridge were also filled with apprehension on the possibility of Earth's fall.

'_Miranda,_' he thought. Was she dead? Was she even at Earth? Too many painful questions. He did the best thing he could do – detach himself from the moment and focus on the issue at hand. "Are the sensors working?" He asked.

"At full capacity," Cortana replied.

"Has Earth been… glassed?"

Cortana paused, closing her eyes and placed a hand to her forehead. The data lines crisscrossing her nude body. "I'm not detecting the usual amounts of soot or ash a plasma bombardment throws up," she commented slowly, "and I am detecting a viable and relatively undamaged atmosphere as well as life."

There was a collective unsaid sigh in the bridge.

"Sir," Cortana went on. "I'm detecting a unusually large amount of radio waves emitting from the planet."

"Put them up on the bridge speakers."

"Finished, sir."

Keyes flinched and covered his ears as a unimaginable tangle of voices, racket and music played over the speakers. While he couldn't make anything out of it, he knew that whatever was blaring on the speakers weren't the usual communications. "I've analyzed the radio traffic and it _appears_-" she stressed that word out, "-that the majority of radio traffic is from the late 20th and early 21st century. It would collaborate with the amount of space junk in the planet's orbit as well as the level of technology Earth is at."

"Time travel is impossible Cortana," Keyes muttered, nervously tapping left palm with his pipe.

"Captain, I'm hearing talk about NASA's Pathfinder space probe landing on the surface of Mars, about a Great Flood in Poland, on NATO inviting the _Czech Republic_, Hungary and Poland to join them, and on a number of other issues. We are definitely five centuries before our time, Captain," she finished.

Keyes scowled.

"If we _are _in the early 2000's," he growled, not believing that for a single second, "then how did we get _here_?" The unsaid 'and can we get back,' was heard.

"I'm not sure Captain," Cortana admitted.

He sighed.

"Doesn't Earth on this century have long-range telescopes?" He asked suddenly.

Cortana nodded. "I've already begun to move the _Autumn_ behind Deimos, and masked our presence from any telescopes or sensors Earth of this century might have."

Keyes nodded. Now there was the issue of what to do. The _Autumn _was severely damaged, and without shipyard's to repair it, she would stay that way. They didn't have the resources to manufacture the parts they needed and the materials that they needed as well the factories to process them were non-existent.

'_Miranda…._'

He was hit with the sudden realization that he would never see his daughter again. He clenched his knuckles and felt weak, suddenly feeling age. His crew wouldn't be able to see their families again either, their loved ones and friends. Everyone was gone, not yet born. They didn't even have homes to go back to anymore. "Time until we can re-enter Slipstream," he muttered softly.

"Two hours," his Chief Engineer, Gail Purdy, whispered.

He straightened his back.

They had a limited number of options now. What felt like days to Keyes, he watched as the once mighty cruiser crawl, inch by inch behind the lump of a moon called Deimos. He still didn't believe in Time Travel, but Cortana was confident in that. In his time, Deimos was home to a few hundred people living in habitat domes. Here, it was lifeless rock caught in Mars's gravitational pull.

"Captain, I've detected a unusually large power spike," Cortana said suddenly, alarmed. "It's more powerful than anyone in this century should have."

"How large?"

"Extremely large sir."

Keyes frowned, fiddling with his pipe.

"Mask our approach Cortana," he ordered, "and maneuver us behind the moon. We're going to investigate."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**.**

**. **

1537 Hours, August 9, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser_ Pillar of Autumn, _in orbit behind dark side of the moon

**. **

The mess hall of the _Pillar of Autumn _was by all accounts, the beating heart of shipboard life. There was not a single man or women who didn't eat there, mingling together and washing away the horrors and rumors of the War in the large space. The War was taboo there, and everyone who walked in imagined as hard as they could to forget it. To forget the decades of death and loss, the constant defeat and retreat and defeat pattern that had become so familiar to many of them - To forget the very existence of the horrors.

But this time, there was no breaking the gloom and despair that radiated from everyone. It was no secret that they had, despite the fact that it was impossible, time traveled into the late 20th Century. Within hours of the discovery, the whole crew knew about it. Some took it easier than others, having emotionally detached themselves from any relationship. But the majority was hit hard, disconnected from their friends and family, their loved ones and rivals. The very sights, people and worlds, the very reasons they fought, the realization came that they would never see them again. They were gone.

Some couldn't handle it.

It had been three days since the transition, since the 'Event' occurred that tore the _Autumn _and her crew into the distant past. Since then, eighty five people had committed suicide, unable to deal with the fact that everyone and everything they cared about was gone. Eighteen more died in cryo-stasis due to equipment failure during repairs. Nine more workers died when the section they were in blew, throwing them into the depths of cold space.

Near the center of the hall, Ensign George Handford and his friend, Ensign Scott Colbert sat, brooding as they looked at Colbert's Data Pad, watching the images Cortana was sending to everyone's Data Pad of the Earth. It was Earth, but it wasn't their Earth. That fact only made the sight seem to hurt so much more.

"Look at it," Handford muttered, staring longingly at the North American continent. He'd been born in the Great lakes Megapolis in the Great Lakes Union, one of the few Earth-born crewmembers aboard the _Autumn_. For that very reason, the fact that his Earth, his friends and his family, was gone hurt him all the more. "It looks so much like home. But it isn't. Gah, this sucks," he groaned.

Colbert just nodded. He was also from Earth, from the United Republic of North America. But he was from the political entity called the 'Oregon-California Confederation, or the OCC. Before the formation of the URNA, the Confederation and the Great Lakes had fought several wars over North Dakota. But that was in the past for them. "It looks the same back then, doesn't it? I mean, from space, you know," Scott said with a twinge of sentimentality.

But that wasn't true. The North America he knew was a bustling continent of business and industry, still recovering from the cyber and bio-warfare of the Second American Civil War. It was covered with sprawling Megapolis and highly mechanized. Compared to Asia, the URNA was moderately populated. "But it isn't our home though," Colbert went on. "It's not our Earth either."

"But it's still Earth, its still America," he replied instantly. They both had joined the UNSCDF at the same time, drawn into the military by the lies of an inevitable UNSC victory against the Covenant. After a few moments of silence, Handford looked up from his coffee mug sternly. "This is not right, Scott. We should be back home, fighting, not stuck five hundred years in the past cowering behind the moon" he said bitterly.

"This isn't the UEG or the UNSC," Colbert responded. "We don't have any orders or anyone to report to. The North America there, they haven't dealt with the wars our ancestors fought in. They're so confident in their future that they'll destroy themselves. The Civil War, the Rain Forest Wars, the Interplanetary Wars, they haven't learned the lesson's we've learned. They're utterly barbarian compared to us. We buried our weapons during the colonization effort and if it wasn't for the Insurrection or the Covenant, they would have _stayed _buried. The whole Earth is naïve to the truth," he added.

"The United States, the EU, the United Nations – they're our new government. It's our duty to defend Earth, and the Covenant is out there, waiting to destroy Earth. We have a duty to do defend Earth. We have an opportunity here to jump-start Earth's technological base _centuries _ahead of schedule. By the time the Covenant come knocking at our doors, we'll be kicking their doors in!"

Scott scowled.

"Our loyalty is to the United Nations Space Command and to the United Earth Government, not to the United States, not to the EU or the United Nations. The Captain does not want us to interfere in Earth's development at anyway. We have no idea what could happen – we could never have been born!"

"Earth will be ready to face the Covenant, that'll what happen! Billions of lives will be saved!"

"And what if the people down there abuse our technology?" He retorted harshly, "What if they use it for personal gain? What if they go about conquering and replacing the Covenant? What if they kill themselves off before they discover Faster-Than-Light? Did you think about that? Did you think about the consequences that could if we, if you do that? We _can't _change history!"

"Earth comes first, and as far as I'm concerned that is Earth!"

Colbert could say or do next to nothing in response. The entire mess hall was now listening in on their conversation; several crewmembers were now glaring at them. Apparently the topic of their argument wasn't popular to any of them. Then someone else, Tepe's or something Colbert thought faintly, joined in. "He's right! We swore a oath to defend Earth, and this is Earth, past or present!" Several other crewmembers from Earth let out a definite affirmative holler in response from across the room. "To Earth!" One of them shouted, fanning the flames of intervention and isolation burning hotly in the room.

"Shut the hell up swabbies!"

Standing at the doorway was a Marine in gray fatigues. He crossed his arms and glared at the majority of the hall. Stitched on his fatigues was the name **LOCKLEAR**. "Dammit to hell people, sit your asses down before I throw you in the brig for treason. We are officers and crewmen of the UNSC, and our loyalty is not to _Earth_, but to the UEG. The UN down there is _not _the UEG. We don't owe any allegiance to the people down there," he snarled.

"Screw you!" Someone shouted.

Locklear was about to respond when someone threw a punch at him. In just moments, things escalated quickly. Crewmembers from both groups stormed forward and began throwing punches an all out brawl. It would be a full ten minutes before security, Silva's ODST's, was able to get those fighting under control.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**.**

1543 Hours, August 9, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser_ Pillar of Autumn, _in orbit behind dark side of the moon

**. **

Standing like a statue on the bridge of the wounded cruiser, Keyes felt a familiar burden weigh heavily on his shoulders. He took a deep breath, watching the stars stare at him from afar. He had been to them, and they had become friends. Now they were strangers, holding the unknown in them. Utter foreigners, housing aliens and threats to mankind and to the future.

He sighed.

No, there was nothing he could do. Even as back as the late 20th Century, mankind's crude sensors could detect the underpowered engines of one of their early space vehicles as far away as the Asteroid belt. It would have been impossible to cover up the explosion of energy caused by the Slipstream window or the shift in… he shook the thoughts away. The damage was done, and they had to the best to minimize it. But what was the point on a world that already proved to be so different from what he knew about history?

"There's no point in containing our existence, is there Cortana?"

"Not unless you want to stick your head in the sand, Captain."

He ignored the quip.

"How much damage was caused?"

"Major Silva's men had to break up several riots in the last few hours," Cortana reported, her avatar flickering. "Three men dead with numerous in the medical bay for treatment," she added. "I should also mention that we're running low on medical supplies." She felt that she didn't have to add that they had already run out of some key medicines. That would only serve to add to the Captain's stress.

"Thank you Cortana," the war veteran muttered.

He had expected this, but not all at once. He thought back to the time when he fought against the Insurrection, when the Human-Covenant War was literally just starting. You could never tell who was friend and who was foe. That was the same situation he was now, horrifyingly, facing here – you couldn't tell who was loyal and who was a traitor. He winced at the use of that; perhaps using traitor was too harsh of a word. The people who felt loyalty to Earth, not to the government, weren't wrong. At the same time they were.

When did things become so complicated?

'_Since this Time Travel happened,_' he scowled, thinking about what the Event had done to his crew. Everything had started going wrong since the Event. He could hardly imagine his crew ever having rebellious thoughts against Earth or the UEG/UNSC. But if the Event had this sort of reaction, he wondered what would happen if he told his crew about the… difference on Earth.

"How much do they know?"

"I was able to erase most of the data pertaining to us," Cortana replied. "Unfortunately I was too late in doing so. Our Slipspace Exit point was detected by numerous agencies as well as our little 'Secret.' Most of the data they collected is gone, but they are actively looking for what caused the energy burst."

"What's _their _reaction?"

"They're concerned and are working closely with NASA. Considering what we know about them now, I'm not surprised that they and the United States Space Agency are working together on this. However it hasn't stopped them from using that device of theirs." The unsaid '_That they shouldn't even have_,' was heard loud and clear. Keyes nodded in agreement with that whole heartedly.

"Cortana," he said slowly, "what do you think would happen if I told them what you me."

She raised a holographic eyebrow. "Suicide rates would either go up or down, and there might be more unrest. Since it's obvious that this isn't our world, the idea of giving technology to this Earth to fight the Covenant might be more appealing. On the other hand, it could make it less appealing, although the latter is unlikely. I'm not sure though - human reactions, Captain, are very irrational."

"It's what kept us alive Cortana," he said quietly.

'_Miranda…_' his thoughts drifted to his daughter and wondered what she would think. Would the UNSC label him and the _Autumn _as missing in action or as deserters? Would she even care that he was gone, that she would never see him again? It hurt to even thank that, to think his daughter wouldn't miss him. It was unlikely he knew, but there was always the rift between them. Even worse, the last SPARTAN-II's were gone, away from the front lines.

He grimaced.

John and Linda, or S-117 and S-058 as they were commonly referred to by 'official' UNSC Records. But he never forgot their names, never forgot the innocent and unsuspecting faces of the children he helped select for the SPARTAN Program. If he had known back then… if he had known what they would do to them… no, he would still do the same thing. The pain those children went through… it ultimately helped save the UNSC for the time to come.

He sighed.

"Orders, Captain?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**.**

1703 Hours, August 9, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser_ Pillar of Autumn, _in orbit behind dark side of the moon

**. **

"Three more riots, one dead," Cortana said in an all too calm tone as she reviewed the actions of the past two hours. Keyes was irritated and troubled that he detected a hint of _amusement _in her tone. "Your little speech about our dilemma didn't create as much chaos as I thought it would. No immediate damage to the _Autumn_ or any of her-" he swore he heard her say _my_, "systems."

He just nodded, and thought. Cortana stared at him, but he knew that she was busying herself as he thought. A lifetime went by for an AI as smart as Cortana in a single second, and he felt pity that she had to review and review old data to stave off imminent boredom. '_I'm actually feeling pity for an AI?_' He thought, slightly amused. He had never thought of AI's as anything other than machines, highly advanced tools that made life easier like the wheel.

"What about the planet? Earth," he corrected himself. It was the same word and world he knew that. But at the same it was so different… backwards and _primitive_. "Has anything new happened down there, Cortana?"

He thought about what little he could remember from school. Within three years, the War on Terrorism would start coinciding with the Oil Crisis and the Global Depression. They would undergo upheavals as old powers waned and new ones started showing their worth. People would begin investing in space exploration and colonization, the predecessor to the future colonies of the UEG. The nations down there would endure the petty little crises and go on to begin colonization efforts of the Moon and Mars in eighty years. They wouldn't even form a united government until the 22nd Century. The United Nations didn't even possess a military arm, unlike it would later in the future due to the Rainforest Wars.

He closed his eyes.

Then he mentally laughed.

Who was to say that this Earth would follow the _same _path of events that his Earth had gone through? This _Stargate_ program never existed in their timeline. If it had, Keyes reasoned, they would have been better prepared for the Covenant invasion; they wouldn't have been so outmatched by their enemy. From what Cortana had read, the 'Jaffa's' Staff weapons were fairly strong. Weapons like those, refined and adapted for real war, would have changed… what? He grimaced – humanity always won on ground. It was space that was the decisive factor.

Even so, if his Earth had had a Stargate Program, he was certain they would have held back the Covenant, or at least stemmed their tide. Maybe even win a few more engagements. He found it slightly ironic that the SGC was fighting a religiously-based Empire like the Covenant, this Goa'uld Empire. Parasitic beings using humans as hosts and taking on the personas of Gods – it sounded too fake to be real, and yet it was. He shook his head at that.

'_They're dealing with things too big for them to comprehend,_' he thought darkly. '_The Program has already started a war between them and these Goa'uld._' He realized of course that the Goa'uld had invaded first a few months ago, but the Americans had blundered into a delicate scenario. They didn't have the slightest _idea _of what to expect out there, besides the few humanoid races they've encountered, not including the Goa'uld. Worse, if the Covenant existed…

He paled and shuddered.

The thought was terrible.

The actions of the SGC, he thought, their secrecy from the rest of the world, reminded him of ONI. Perhaps that wasn't a fair comparison, but it was a close one. The SGC, while it proclaimed its mandate to be for the betterment of the human race and Earth, was essentially working for the betterment of the _United States_. An American-run organization being run in secret, behind the backs of everyone, it wasn't hard to see the truth. While ONI's Special Weapons projects were often… questionable, he had to admit their effort worked in favor of mankind. The SPARTAN Program was one example.

"Captain, are you listening?"

Broken from his trance, Keyes blinked and found himself staring at the disgruntled and annoyed face of Cortana. "Sorry," he said, "continue on," he added.

"Stargate Command is working closely with NASA," Cortana said, taking on a more professional tone, "and the European Space Agency is scouring the skies for us. The Russians and French are doing the same, and I've made a few 'phantom' Slipstream windows for them here and there, to keep them guessing."

"You're playing with them," he observed.

Her avatar shrugged and he had to smile at the gesture. "What if I am, Captain? My duty is to defend humanity, and right now I'm defining it as 25th Century humanity, meaning the people aboard this ship. Unless you give the order, I won't allow anything or anyone to jeopardize the safety of this ship."

"A bit extreme, isn't it Cortana?" Keyes said warily.

Cortana gave him 'the look.' "I don't define myself between your little groups, Captain. What I define as my duty right now is whatever I think is for the best. Of course the final answer is up to you, Captain. But I am here to help."

Keyes scowled.

He deliberated on what actions he should take. He already knew what he was going to do, but he needed to keep his already limited options as numerous as possible. This was a dangerous situation – there was no way for him to know what would happen below. Worst case scenario, the more reactionary nations – North Korea, Iran, and America – would react in a violent manner. Best case scenario would be that there would be minimal disturbance.

He chuckled at that. Humanity, at its best, had always been violent, masking their violence, covering their nature with lies of wanting peace and unity. In the end though, he admitted, humanity often deluded itself into thinking that they were capable of hiding their nature. History though, never allowed them to hide it.

God, he wanted an Alt Burgundy.

"Sir, some new developments," Cortana's disembodied voice said. He sighed and shook his head. By her neutral tone, he knew that the news wouldn't be in his favor.

"Go ahead."

"Ensign Karrod was found in his cabin, an apparent suicide. Stargate Command has recovered one of their 'SG-Team's' from off world under heavy fire. However, I've detected unusual seismic activity concurrent with the activation of the Stargate in Antarctica. Sir, based on the files I've… liberated from Stargate Command, I would presume that there may be _another _Stargate in Antarctica."

"Another one?"

"Yes sir," Cortana stated.

That was interesting, Keyes noted. Two Stargate's on Earth and he doubted that Stargate Command knew about it considering they had yet to make any movements to Antarctica. He stood up and wrapped a pistol belt around his waist. He grabbed a M6D and stared at it, feeling the grip as he slid into the holster. He straightened his uniform and took a deep breath. "Going somewhere Captain?"

"I've made my decision Cortana."

"Oh?"

He didn't answer as he walked out, making his way towards the Bridge. He noticed that someone had painted BACK TO EARTH on a wall, and made a note to have someone clean that up. He had to restore order on his ship – this would not be tolerated anymore. It would _not_ be tolerated anymore, he assured himself.

"Captain," Ensign Lovell said, the first to notice him.

"At ease," he said, walking to the front of the bridge. "Ship-wide broadcast Cortana."

"Yes sir – ready when you are."

"This is your Captain speaking," he stated. "We have been thought a lot since Reach. We have fought an unknown alien race and we have found ourselves not only out of our own time but out of our own timeline. This isn't the UEG or the UNSC, but this is Earth." He saw a few uncertain glances from a few bridge officers and ignored them. "In those stars lie the Covenant, gathering their strength and expanding. Our oath was to the UNSC, but the UNSC does not exist and it may not. Right now there are six billion humans on Earth, unaware of the threat, involving themselves in acts beyond them, playing games with powers beyond them. It is our duty to lead them and protect them. We swore to defend humanity from the threats beyond, and we will."

He took a pause.

"We will contact Earth."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**I edited the date because I've found a rough timeline that has approximate dates for episodes and mentioned facts. It's better than having to go by the dates when the episodes were shown on TV, ain't it? **

**.**

**July 15, 1997 (Gregorian calendar) / SGC Command Facility**_**, **_**beneath NORAD (Cheyenne Mountain)**

**. **

"Sir, we have a situation."

Tearing his eyes from the immobile Stargate General Hammond slowly and deliberately, turned around on the heels of his boots. He stared at Major Davis and nodded at him. The liaison between Stargate Command and the Pentagon nodded back. "We just spoke with Cairn Deep Space Radar," he said, "they picked up a large blip leaving the dark side of the moon and heading towards Earth."

Hammond just frowned.

"Any identification yet," he asked calmly. Davis wondered how the General could act so calm despite the situation they were in. An alien ship was coming towards Earth, and it had been hiding behind the moon for God knows how long! If he were in Hammond's shoes, he'd be sweating and shifting.

Then again, Hammond was in command of a secret project, quite possibly the most dangerous program in the world. In Hammond's hands was the future of Earth, the ability for humanity to travel beyond the solar system and to the distant stars. Stargate Command was where relations with alien species would be made and technology could be studied, replicated and released to the public. New medicines and treatments, new games and electronics, weapons and defenses, new fibers and new methods of engineering and constructions, all could come through the Stargate. But enemies could also come through the Stargate, as the General already knew all too well.

Davis then reconsidered his thought. It was no wonder why Hammond wasn't entirely fazed. He had so much pressure on him; the thought of an alien ship approaching Earth would scare him much. For that, Davis's respect for the man grew.

"No, not yet sir," he said honestly. "NASA is just re-positioning Hubble right now. We should be able to get a closer look." He didn't want to mention that it would take a long time for the Hubble to get into position, and at the speed the object was moving at, it would already be too late to get a picture.

"Could it be Goa'uld in origin?" He remembered reading in the mission report from the original mission to Abydos that the Goa'uld 'Ra' had arrived at the planet in a large ship – the size of the 'pyramids of Giza,' if he remembered correctly.

"Unknown sir," came the grim reply.

Damn. "How many team's do we have offworld?"

"SG-1, SG-2, SG-4 are offworld sir. Their all to be due back in two hours," Walter replied instantly. Hammond nodded. They would have to remain offworld unless they were under fire. Perhaps he should recall the teams – the SGC would need all the people it could get if the approaching ship _was _indeed a Goa'uld ship.

Hammond was about to say something else when Walter shouted, "Sir, we're receiving a radio message from the unknown object. It's being transmitted all over the planet! Sir," there was a nervous tone in the voice, "the message is in five thousand different languages, the same message all over the planet."

'_What_?' Hammond thought, astounded. The first thing that went through his mind was astonishment. Then came curiosity. The ship could not be Goa'uld in origin. From what contact SGC had with the Goa'uld, it was highly unlikely they would try and talk with them. But whoever was approaching Earth had to have been studying humanity for quite some time to decipher, compare and use that many languages. "Let's hear it," he said, walking behinds Walter as Major Davis followed.

"Yes sir…"

There was a brief pause as Walter worked at his station. Hammond noticed that everyone had stopped working to listen to the message that was being broadcasted. "_**This is the UNSC Cruiser Pillar of Autumn to the planet Earth. Esta es la UNSC Pillar of Autumn Cruiser para el planeta Tierra. Dies ist der Cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn, um den Planeten Erde.**_" The message continued on repeating, the same phrase in each of the following languages. He tried to fathom the message being broadcasted in _five thousand _languages. He couldn't imagine that many languages.

"Can we block it?" He said hopefully. The SGC was only a few months old, but they had already acquired certain pieces of alien technology, mostly Goa'uld in origin. There had to be something they had to block the radio message.

"No sir."

'_Damn_.'

Hammond lowered his head as if thinking.

There was only one thing to do.

"Excuse me Major," he said, striding away towards his office. As soon as he walked in, he picked up his red phone and took a deep breath. '_There goes my retirement,_' he thought, half amused by that. He didn't have plans to retire any time soon, no matter how much he wanted to spend time with his family.

His work was too important.

"This Major General Hammond, let me speak to the president."

**.**

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hammond snapped, wearing his battle dress. He stared coldly into the smiling face of Major Samuels. Were he not supposed to set an example for the men and women on this base he would gladly have punched that arrogant smile off the man's face. Samuels, as far as he was concerned, was not welcome in the SGC. The man was too arrogant for his liking.

Davis had left a while ago to brief the Pentagon on what Hammond had planned, which wasn't much considering what limited resources the SGC had at its disposal. They were nowhere near close to producing anything bigger than a Space Shuttle, and even that was beyond their capabilities. Even so, the SGC could offer the armed forces of the United States advice and tactical options.

Despite that, no one seemed to be taking his advice seriously. China and Russia had gone on their highest alert, and the individual nations of Europe was also preparing. Strangely though, the United States armed forces weren't preparing. The President had declared Defcon 1 – they were still at Defcon 4 oddly enough.

Samuels stood up and extended his hand in greeting.

He didn't meet him.

"Reporting for duty sir," Samuels said smoothly, lowering his hand after it became clear Hammond would not shake it. "I'm to coordinate with the Pentagon."

"By whose orders?" Hammond demanded.

"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs," the liaison said smugly

"Maybe you can tell me why our forces haven't gone on full alert? If we don't get our assets moving now, they are going to be caught on the ground if that is a hostile ship. We would be unprepared for an invasion," he said back.

"Which is the problem, Samuel's said in his infuriatingly calm tone.

"Explain."

"We aren't sure if it_ is_ a hostile ship. For all we know, this could be a benevolent alien race coming to initiate First Contact with us. If we react forcefully, then we could scare away potential visitors who want to be _friends _with us."

"And if they aren't?"

"And if they are?" Samuel's countered.

Hammond glared at him.

Samuels chuckled weakly: "General Hammond, may I speak freely? I know I seem to have lost your respect, sir, for whatever reason that may be. But these are my orders from someone above you. I thought one of the purposes of this command was to encourage contact with alien races, develop ties with species on other worlds and to improve the human race, General."

Hammond glared at him. "How dare-"

"Sir," Harriman shouted.

"Excuse me," he coldly said to Samuels', turning away from the smiling face of his liaison. "What is it Walter?"

"Sir, the unknown ship has taken a position above Antarctica. They're-"

On the screen above the console were Harriman was fizzled with static before the upper half of a man with graying hair and blue eyes appeared, wearing a double-breasted gray tunic with the seal of a dark gray bird with the words UNSCDF on it. Samuels and Hammond stared warily at the sudden appearance. At the back of his head, Samuels wondered if the Chairman was wrong.

'_Is this being broadcasted to the world… or to us?_' He wondered. Either way, there was nothing they could do. But why would the alien ship go to Antarctica? "My name is Captain Jacob Keyes, commander of the UNSC ship _Pillar of Autumn_. I come in peace and apologize for the turmoil our… appearance has caused."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**I hope you enjoy this. **

**.**

**Right, so… I was looking through the files on my old USB and I found that I had already completed a chapter for CoW that I never put up. So here you go! I doubt I'll continue the story (I started too slow and I've lost interest) but I do HAVE other STORIES that I'm working on. **

**.**

**Stargate Crossgate is one. It's a fusion of several universes! That's a bit interesting, Ja? **

**.**

**July 17, 1997 (Gregorian calendar) / SGC Command Facility, beneath NORAD (Cheyenne Mountain)**  
**.**  
"It has been two days since the arrival of the alien ship," the newscaster said as the image of the gray bulky ship faded in behind him. "And countries," he went on, "are still trying to make appointments to meet the 'supposed aliens.' There has been controversy over the sudden appearance, and there are many who believe the ship to be a _hoax_."

"Of _course_it's a hoax. A giant spaceship comes up over Antarctica, sends a message to the whole world, that can't be real. Oh, and all of those pictures and videos of it all over the internet? They're fakes too! There's no _way_ it's real!"

"People really do believe that Jack," Daniel said wearily, eyes glued on the TV as the man blabbered on 'theories' on why the '_Pillar of Autumn'_ had come to their planet. "A lot of people are in denial."

"Please, those people are being stupid."

Well there was that, Daniel admitted. The truth was that while humanity was curious about the unknown, they were also completely afraid of it. How many times in human history, he thought, did man go out to explore and when they found something they didn't like they returned to fight and conquer? Still, people really were just plain stupid to think it was a hoax.

"There has been controversy over the alien's drilling in the Antarctic, and many environmentalists groups are demanding that the President take action. As of the moment, we do not know anything about why these aliens would want to drill in the Antarctic…"

Turning the TV off, Daniel rubbed his eyes and sighed. "When do you-"

"I don't know Daniel," Jack snapped.

"Sorry, just restless here," he muttered gazing at the pieces of a pot they had recovered from ancients ruins on a planet two thousand light-years away. He had hoped to return there to look for anything else. They looked vaguely Mycenaean with a mix of Egyptian in them.

Jack laughed bitterly.

When the _Pillar of Autumn_ ("dumb name," Jack grumbled,) arrived, the President had suspended all gate activity and the program in general. Right now, the General was working with NASA and the Joint Chief's on trying to find why they were here and who 'they' were. They were humans of course; satellite imagery had taken photos of people leaving a 'dropship.' Obviously they had to be descendents of humans taken by the Goa'uld, but they hadn't encountered any human civilization as advanced as or more advanced than Earth. Then again, he admitted, they hadn't been to how many worlds yet. At most, ten worlds since the program had started.

The fact that they were humans was known only to the SGC, the Joint Chief's and President Clinton. The rest of the world knew that the aliens were humanoid, but that was all they knew. He wondered what sort of culture they had been taken from, and what differences in histories and mythologies they had. What was the name of the Goa'uld that had acted as their God and why did it apparently allow them to become so advanced?

So many questions!

"You don't honestly buy into that crap, do you Carter?" The Colonel asked as the newscaster replayed the message the _Autumn_had broadcasted just as Carter walked in Daniel's office. He doubted that anyone on Earth expected the first alien they'd meet spoke English, but even he hadn't been prepared when they said their message in the top eleven most spoken languages. _That_had surprised him. Probably surprised Daniel too, and he didn't doubt that. He'd never forget Daniel's face, he snickered. Still, it was unsettling that they knew Earth's major languages. That meant that they had been studying them for a while, and that frightened him.

Then again, if the aliens weren't hostile and were friendly as they were showing themselves to be, then what was the point of keeping the Stargate program a secret? The world already knew about aliens and most were taking it pretty well. A small number of nations however didn't seem to be fond of the aliens however such as Iran and North Korea. Overall the reaction was rather positive. The reason for the secrecy was that the people wouldn't take the news of alien life so easily. Apparently they had been wrong.

"If they are hostile, why didn't they attack the moment they arrived above Earth," she reasoned. Jack grumbled and shook his head in dismay. "Sir, we wouldn't have anything to stop them with if they did want to attack us. They could fire at us from orbit and nothing we had could have stopped them." She was about to go on but Jack just let out a loud groan.

"Sir?"

"We're the SGC for cryn' out loud! It isn't it our job to make first contact with alien life, explore new worlds and all that jazz? This is our forte – _we_should be going up there and talking to them!"

"Well without approval from Hammond or the President, I don't think we can Jack."

He just waved his hand dismissively.

"Have any of you seen Teal'c?"

"Hammond and a couple of men from the NID wanted to talk with him," Jack responded. He wasn't worried about Teal'c – he could take care of himself with those guys. After facing monsters like Ra and Apophis, Intelligence officers didn't seem as intimidating as before.  
**.**  
**1420 Hours, July 17, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser**_**Pillar of Autumn**_**, above the continent of Antarctica**  
**.**

"So you can't get back in their files?"

"I'm afraid not Captain. The times I did must have been a fluke – even with the compatibility software's there's too much of an age gap_and_ a time gap between our systems. They haven't made any recent expedition off world, and I'm going on a guess that they've stopped using their Stargate for the time being," the AI whilst the Captain stared into the bleak outside. She actually sounded frustrated by that.

He sighed and let go of his pipe.

"What about the drilling site? Have we-"

"The team has confirmed that they've located the Stargate," she interrupted, "however they are having some trouble removing it from the ice although they say they can get it out in a few hours. A lot of our equipment was damage when we waited for Noble Six to give us my fragment from Dr. Halsey. I can prioritize the drilling platform for our-"

"Don't bother Cortana. Right now we need our focus on maintaining the ship, the Stargate is of secondary concern." He crossed his arms and read the various files and messages sent by various governments. Cortana had intercepted and deleted hundreds of private messages from various non-governmental organizations which made it easier for him to read. Many governments wanted to speak with him, although he didn't want to show favoritism. If he accepted one government's invitation then others would think he preferred that government than the rest of them.

"Captain, I think you'll find this rather amusing."

A message appeared on the screen from a small-time UFO organization based somewhere in England. _**WELCOME ALIENS TO EARTH. WE WELCOME YOU AND HOPE YOU COME IN PEACE. LIVE LONG AND PROSPER. WE WANT TO LOVE YOU AND WE WANT TO BECOME ONE WITH YOU. WE ALL WANT TO LOVE YOU.**___

He blanched, very disturbed by that. "Thank you for that Cortana."

She smiled at his look and snapped her fingers.

'_She's like a civilian at times_,' he thought as he erased that message from his mind. The UN, the precursor to the UE Government and the UNSC – he'd go there. It didn't represent all of the nations on the world but it represented the majority of nations and it wouldn't ruffle as many feathers. In a hundred seventy years, he thought, the UN would lead the various nations of Earth into war against the Friedan Forces based on the Jovian Moon's.

The war would escalate however, when various nations started proxy wars on Earth itself and man's colonies in the solar system started picking sides. When the Unified German Republic declared its support for the Friedan's, the EU and several other nations brought their might against Germany and erased Germany from the map. From there, the Jovian Moons Campaign would evolve into the Interplanetary War, the most devastating war in human history until the Human-Covenant War.

He frowned.

The issue now was moving from Antarctica to New York. He didn't want to move the ship, not with the crew running around the clock to make as best repairs as they could to her. Suddenly the messages vanished, replaced by one. "Sir, this is a message from Stargate Command. They want to meet with us."

Oh?

Well then, this was bound to be interesting.

"Reply. Tell them we'll be meeting _them _in a few hours."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with great difficulty.) **

**.**

**1530 Hours, February 17, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser Pillar of Autumn, above the continent of Antarctica**

**.**

"Status, Cortana?"

"Optimal Captain," the AI said dryly while overseeing the repairs of some of the more important areas of the ship. "Sixty seven percent of all remaining crewmen in the Cryo-tubes have been woken up and been informed about our situation. The rest are in various process of rebirth although..."

Keyes grimaced.

"How many didn't wake?"

"Thirteen died and four more…" she frowned and rubbed her temple. "I'm sorry Captain, make that _five_ more that have committed suicide."

"They could be worse," he sighed.

They had been in the process of reawakening key bridge officers and all other essential personal when they'd been attacked by those pyramid ships. He had been forced to recall his order and put them back on ice, a risky process that often resulted in death. He should be thankful, and he was, that he hadn't lost any more people than he already had. It seemed luck was with them, with the number of personal that had survived the rebirthing process. Those were the type of people that he was going to need in the coming hours, days, weeks and months – the men and women who were going to help shape Earth towards a better future, one free from the trappings that had terrorized his Earth.

He tapped his pipe on his knuckles, thinking about what he was going to do next. Revealing the Stargate was a risky business but he couldn't allow a program that carried so much danger threaten the security of Earth nor he could he allow a single country monopolize on the technology that could be taken from the 'Goa'uld' and possibly the Covenant, if they existed. The United States was just like any other country – it was arrogant and sure of its own policies and while it was better suited to run something like the Stargate, they were mired in world politics and were, in the end, working to better the 'blessed' American dream rather than improve on the vision of a better world. He frowned at that. He wasn't fond of late 20th or the 21st century because of those generations had wrought for their children. So was he bias in his thinking? Yes, he probably was. He had to stop thinking about what had happened and avoid those mistakes.

"Is there anything else, Cortana?"

"Yes, Captain. Spartan 117 and Spartan 058 are still in Cryo sleep as you requested but medical personal are concerned with reviving Spartan 058. The injuries she sustained on Reach were substantial and she was, is, on the verge of death. Basically Captain, being kept in Cryo Sleep is the only thing keeping her alive and reviving her might result in her death."

Keyes scowled.

He'd been afraid of that.

While he didn't trust any single nation to operate the Stargate (and he still had reservations about his own crew studying the Stargate in Hanger A,) it was incredibly naïve to think that people wouldn't want to explore beyond the confines of their solar system. But from what Cortana had found in the SGC's files the Goa'uld weren't likely to take well to tourists coming through the Stargate. While he was confident a UNSC Marine could handle a Jaffa with a staff weapon (videos that Cortana had hacked from the SGC on the use of a Staff Weapon didn't leave a good impression on him,) there was no telling what else there was in the galaxy. He wondered what a Jaffa would think of if they met a Spartan. He'd been awed the first time he saw a Spartan – they'd been utterly alien in his eyes, more so than the Covenant they were fighting. The fact that they were the children he helped select didn't help matters at all.

His eyes softened at the memories. Did he have a right to revive the Spartans though? There hadn't been any time to pick up the other Spartans, he knew but he couldn't help but feel guilt over leaving them behind. He had seen them as children, naïve and unaware of the role they were going to play in the affairs of the UNSC. He remembered one of them, Samuel if his memory served him right, calling him a friend the first time they met. God, he had left him and the others to die on Reach. The pain the two Spartans must be feeling must be terrible: The last of their kind.

Was that the fate in store for humanity?

Miranda...

He felt a pang of worry. Where was his daughter now, he wondered? Was she even still alive or was she dead like so many young promising commanders? As much as he wanted things to be fair he knew that war didn't care about who died. The least he could hope was that Miranda was somewhere safe, preferably on Earth or in some distant corner of UNSC space, far away from the war. Then again, she was a fighter, never one to back away from a challenge. But Reach had fallen so how safe was Earth now? Earth only had a quarter of the number of Orbital Platforms that Reach had, relying on the constant protection that the Home Fleet and the Martian and Jovian Defense Fleets offered.

Cortana's voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Captain?"

"Hm? Yes Cortana?"

"Is there something wrong?" Was it his imagination of was that actual worry on Cortana's face? The first time he met Cortana he had accept she wasn't going to be like the few other AI's he had worked with. She didn't act like military; she was more civilian if anything else. She spoke her mind like a civilian, not even bothering to go through proper military protocols. Even stranger, she didn't bother to hold back any of her simulated emotions. She was more human than any of the other AI's but he still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, human history was full of stories of AI's going rouge after reaching a certain point of sentience (or rampancy as it was called) and Cortana was close to that stage without even being anywhere near the point of entering rampancy. She confounded him.

And he enjoyed the challenge.

"No, nothing," he replied wearily while he slid his pipe into his pocket. "How much longer is it until we can move back into orbit?"

She seemed surprised: "You're not taking the Pelicans?"

"Surprised?"

"Honestly? Yes."

"It would take too long," he said wryly. It had only hit him that no one would enjoy the long and predictably awkward ride to Cheyenne Mountain. Dropping down from orbit was actually faster than crossing half of the world although he was sure there would be some who would disagree. "Have there been any changes in the reaction towards us?"

"Not much although there is worry about our intentions. Predictably not everyone is so accepting of our peace offer which speaks volumes of late 20th century paranoia compared to the relatively complacent attitude of the 26th century."

Keyes just shook his head.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**.**

**Review:**

**Nazul of xord: Not long after I wrote this short passage did I find a way to merge some of my ideas and make them into chapters! I hope the quality is still up but if it isn't then tell me. I am relying on all of you! AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!**

**Clueless16: Your right, but at the same time there was the slim chance that they would return home, at least some of them. Now though, there is no chance because there aren't any more homes for them to return to, none of the comforts that they can rely on. Family, friends, others, they're all gone. Everyone is gone, their whole LIVES are gone. That would make some people suicidal although, yes, I probably did overdo the suicide thing. **

**Eipok: I recall somewhere that Earth only had a fraction of the platforms operational by the time Reach was attacked. It wasn't until later that the rest of the platforms were finished and brought online so I'm referring to only the operational platforms. **

**Alec McDowell: You will speak nothing of SB. Do you understand? It is between you and me… the world would collapse if you spoke. I believe Mars was terraformed but its mentioned that it's extremely difficult to terraform worlds and that the UNSC can only nudge a planet towards human compatibility so I'm guessing most colonies in the system are domed. **

**Jabbarulez: 4/5? I am wounded! **

**.**

**February 17, 1997 (Gregorian calendar) / SGC Command Facility, beneath NORAD (Cheyenne Mountain)**

**. **

'_Has it only been two days?_'

He was sure it had been longer but the calendar didn't lie – neither did his data pad. Yes, it had only been two days since they had discovered that not only was the _Autumn _in another universe but that that they had also traveled back to the late 20th century. Amazing how fast time flied when descending what sort of future this Earth, his new home, should take. Was he being condescending in believing that Earth wasn't ready to step into the galaxy yet? Perhaps and he had a right to act the way he was because he had seen how Earth had deteriorated following the start of the 21st century. He wasn't above manhandling Earth in order to protect them but at the same time he didn't want to become mankind's enemy. He had to firm yet at the same time he had to keep an open mind.

That was simple enough.

He knew he should probably be worrying about getting back to his own time but he had already accepted the fact that his ship and the people on it were stuck in this universe, in this time. The people who couldn't accept that had committed suicide. It could be worse, he told himself as he tugged down on his drab gray uniform, making sure he was presentable. They could have, he mused, wound up back during World War II. Now that would have been a disaster for both his ship and the planet. At least in this century the basis for many 26th century technologies had been developed.

Someone knocked.

"Captain Keyes sir," said a muffled voice?

"I'm on my way," said the out of place Captain, fiddling with his pipe one last time before slipping it in his pockets. He despised politics and its wrangling but it was a necessary evil. The problem was that he wasn't speaking to the leaders of the world but instead speaking not just with the President of the United States but also the Joint Chiefs and the commanding officer of the SGC. Maybe he should let Cortana speak to the United Nations and… no that would only make things more problematic. Even though Cortana wasn't a real woman, she was still a female AI.

A _naked_ female AI.

Damn.

'_Now isn't the time to be concerning myself with the future, focus on the now,_' he told himself. Taking one last deep breath he left the quarters his 'hosts' had given and strode down the disturbingly empty halls. It was unsettling the way his footsteps seemed to echo, giving him flashbacks to the fights against the Insurrection and then the Covenant. He had fought his fair share of battles helping repel boarders, even the occasional attempts by the Covenant to seize one of their ships. He could imagine Elite in gleaming blue armor round the corner with his rifle at ready, snarling something in some unintelligible language before killing him. He leaned against a wall, shaking his head.

The Briefing Room wasn't that far from his quarters and while he was confident he could have remembered the way to it he appreciated the gesture. He walked up the spiral staircases, taking note of the computers that overlooked the Stargate. He could imagine people there keeping a vigilant eye on the piece of alien technology, watching as men and women stepped through towards another planet. The people who went through the Stargate were brave – the sort of people that the UNSC was in short supply, especially now that Reach had fallen to the Covenant.

He grimaced.

Waiting for him were the men he was negotiating with for control over the Stargate. These were the men who had started the program and reaped the benefits (although the benefits from a program in its infancy were minimal to say the least.) They had had talked much yesterday other than what he wanted from them, what he could do if they rejected his proposal and what they thought. He knew he had been a little unfair and he didn't enjoy the look of discomfort and suspicion when they saw him leaving the main compartment with an escort of ODST's. It certainly didn't help that he hadn't had the foresight to remove the missile pods or chain gun from the Pelican. He had given them time to mull over his proposal, revealing the existence of the Stargate to the world and putting it under his control. He didn't expect anything than what they told him almost immediately after he finished:

"No."

Well the Americans were stubborn, to say the least.

That was yesterday. Hopefully, things would be more productive today.

"Captain Keyes."

"General Hammond," he reported, nodding to the bald Texan. He nodded politely to the other men, particularly the President. He resisted the urge to fiddle with his pipe (an urge which had become more and more frequent since he realized what had happened to his ship,) and took his seat opposite of the President, the Joint Chiefs and the General at the sides. Without even trying to blend in were four agents from the Secret Service standing at the entrances and he was well aware that they watching his every movement, every twitch (or was he over imagining things?)

"You caused quite a ruckus, do you know that?" said. President Thomas Whitmore.

"Did I?"

"From the viewpoint of the others you seem to be giving us more attention than we apparently deserve."

'_The opposite of what I'm doing,_' Keyes thought, humored.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing for the moment," the President said. "However I want to wrap this up before I do anything – I don't want any loose ends."

"Understandable. Have you taken time to think over my proposal?"

"Our answer is still the same," General Grey interjected gruffly. "Do you honestly think we'd give you the key to the safety of our world to someone who looks human and claims to be from the future? I've read some of the mission reports on the SGC and I know that there potentially thousands of worlds out there with human beings and I know that these Goa'uld inhabit the human body. Do you think we'd give someone like, someone we don't even know we can trust, control over the Stargate just like that?"

"No," Keyes admitted. "But I am being generous. I can cripple the United States right now if I wanted to," he added. "The _Pillar of Autumn _can cripple the entire world in a single day and no one would be able to do a thing about it." He had said the same thing the day before and the same human stubbornness that had made humanity stand up against the Covenant for thirty long years was being used against him to keep the alien technology in the hands of a nation had been destined to fall into civil war and rebuild into four fractured nations in less than a century.

"You had the chance to do it but you didn't," the General countered.

"You won't take the chance to alienate the people of Earth," Hammond added.

Keyes nodded. "History dictates my actions," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "Inevitably, while this program may have been started with good intentions there will always be those who will abuse it for their own wants."

"The same can be said for you."

"True. But unlike you we can offer so much in return for control of the Stargate. For my crew and myself Earth is the only home we have left. We are stranded in the past with no possibility of returning back to the 26th century. The threat the Goa'uld represents towards Earth cannot be underestimated – if their ships are armed" and they were, Keyes thought recalling their brief encounter with what he now suspected had been Goa'uld ships, "then a single ship can wipe out everyone on Earth. In the future, there is a far worse enemy that swept away every defense we can muster. Again, I'm offering you the technology to not only advance Earth's technology but also prepare it to fight off any attackers and show that Earth isn't going to wait for them to come – that Earth can go to _them_."

He had gambled, telling them about where and when he was from. They had taken it better than he expected although he suspected they thought he was from one of the world that the Goa'uld seemed to have seeded with humans they stole from Earth centuries ago. Naturally they had asked questions and he answered them to the best of his ability although he had decided not to tell them about the Human-Covenant War and instead embellished the Insurrection.

Time would tell if he had done the right thing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**.**

**1600 Hours, February 21, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / United Nations General Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters **

**.**

Keyes was fully aware of the mutterings directed at him. Or more preciously, he thought, the talk about him that was being muttered _behind _him. Not the most elegant way of putting it but… well what else did he expect from people who weren't used to what had happened just a few days ago. He had seen things that these people could hardly imagine, things that had become as second nature to him as breathing or blinking. Time Travel was new to him yes but he had seen Slipstream space wrap around his ship, miniature black holes created by the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine tear a hole open in space to the alternate dimension that would wrap itself around the ship and propel past the speed of light. He had seen UNSC Fleet's powerful enough to storm the pearly gates of Heaven itself be swatted away by a half dozen ships and forced to watch as the Covenant glassed entire worlds while the _Iroquois _limped away.

He had seen Grunts jump on people and eat them alive, seen Jackals cut into someone's stomach and chew at their intestines. He'd fought the Covenant above a dozen worlds, been part of a dozen crushing defeats and even part of a handful of victories. He'd even fought against the Insurrection and the Covenant on ground, watched as the children he had unwittingly selected to be the UNSC's poster boys fight against the Covenant's 'Elites' hand to hand. SPARTAN's, the most lethal weapon ever created by the UNSC and he had helped create them – and destroy them.

Yes, he had seen things that the people of the 20th century, especially politicians, couldn't imagine nor would they if he had his way. He doubted that the Goa'uld were that big of a threat towards Earth – if late 20th century technology could fight off a swarm of Jaffa then the armaments that the average Marine carried would make mincemeat out of them. What he was concerned about was the Covenant and if they existed in this Universe – that was the real threat.

The people didn't trust him, why should they? He was an alien, a literal alien that had swooped down from the heavens and offered the people technology and knowledge. He had come down on a ship brimming with weapons and battle damage and while global reaction had been relatively positive he didn't delude himself that it was going to be so easy to gain their trust and implement his plan. Unlike the battered Earth that had forced itself to rebuild, he was dealing with an Earth that hadn't gone through the pain and hardships his Earth had gone through, that hadn't forced themselves to let go of the past in order to move towards the future. He was dealing with an Earth where the past dominated nation's political agenda and motivated the actions of the world's leaders, legal and otherwise.

He resisted the urge to fiddle with his pipe. He had been getting the urge a lot recently – he was under too much stress. While it would feel good to feel the ancient wood around his fingers he didn't want to appear unprofessional and it wouldn't do good for him to start slipping into bad habits. He paused several times to shake hands with various men and women, presumably the ambassadors from the countries that made up the United Nations.

Ah, there was a 'familiar face.'

He wasn't entirely surprised to see the face give him a stony glare.

"Captain Keyes," said President Whitmore with a faux smile on his face.

"Mr. President," said the Captain.

The two regarded each other coolly, discomforting the two aides hovering near Whitmore. "Are you ready, Captain?"

"No," he admitted, fully aware of the questioning looks from the others who were taking their seats. The Assembly Hall was much smaller than its 26th century version but the general design was somewhat similar. The UN Assembly Hall had been abandoned in the 22nd century during the Interplanetary War after the United States had fallen apart in the General Insurrection. New York City had been flattened by a bludgeon missile by the Martian Koslovics, the first instance of actual space warfare. Since then the UEG Headquarters, successor to the UN was located on Sydney Australia. It was somewhat ironic that the concept for the 'Rods from God,' the ballistic weapon that had been the first domino to break apart the United States and spark its dissolution came from this century.

Whitmore laughed.

"Neither am I."

"Mr. President. Captain Keyes."

"General Hammond," Whitmore said, a real smile gracing his lips. "Are you ready?"

"Not entirely Mr. President."

This was a surprise. Keyes hadn't expected to see Hammond join them for the unrevealing (briefly he wondered where the two aides that had been with Whitmore had gone to,) but wasn't entirely unpleased. Hammond reminded him of himself and he wondered if Hammond had existed in his history and if he did, how would his life have been like if he had been part of the Stargate Program. From what he learned, Hammond had been on his way to retirement with command over Cheyenne Mountain being his last act of command before he left military service.

By now the Hall was filled with reporters, cameras and the representatives from the countries than made up the United Nations. Keyes grimaced – he detested being put in the spot light, publicity never worked well with him. "This is a bad idea."

President Whitmore gave him a pained smile. "You were the one who came swooping down and decided to reveal yourself to everyone. You put yourself in the spotlight. Me? I'm going to have to come clean about the Stargate. That wasn't something I was hoping to do for at least a few more years, not until we had more results from the other side."

"The sooner you disclose it the less change of someone making a mistake."

"The SGC hasn't made a single mistake since its inception," Whitmore pointed out. '_Not that it has been around for long,_' he thought.

"True," Keyes admitted. "But it was inevitable, especially with the need of keep the program a secret and having to draw on a limited number of resources and personal."

"I for one wouldn't mind having to cover up the deaths of SGC personal from their families," Hammond said, straightening his dark blue uniform, a grim look on his face. "In all honesty Mr. President, disclosing the Stargate will have more benefits than keeping it hidden – the SGC won't have to siphon money from the Black Budget and we will have a greater pool of people and resources to draw on."

"But it won't be ours," Whitmore said wistfully.

Keyes said nothing.

While the President had conceded to the exchange, control over the Stargate for certain technologies that wouldn't be available to the others, he wasn't really happy with what he was doing. Or with what he had been forced to do, depending on your point of view. The Stargate was a remarkable piece of technology, Keyes knew. It was more advanced than anything the Covenant had shown to use and opened Earth to the galaxy at large, a galaxy that was full of potential threats and hazards. Interplanetary travel hadn't changed the way mankind had acted towards each other, hadn't broken the illusions man had. What was supposed to usher in a utopia brought on the Interplanetary War, the Jovian Moon Campaigns, the Rainforest Wars, the redrawing of national borders and spawning of new countries and conglomerates?

Interstellar travel had brought a parody of peace – the vast potential of worlds and moons that were now available to humanity had ended the constant strife for land and power. Humanity had learned to move on after the wars but you couldn't take away all of man's faults. When the UEG began to overextend its reach, tightening its grip on a steadily worsening situation, the Insurrection broke out and gave man its first state of an actual Interstellar war.

He wouldn't allow that to happen here.

Not this time.

"Good luck, Mr. President," Keyes muttered.

Whitmore smiled bitterly and replied; "Good luck to us all."

As the three men entered the center of the United Nations council the hundreds of delegates ceased talking and watched as Whitmore took his place. All noise ceased as the President steeled himself for the inevitable; cameras, radio microphones, cameras and any other possible media device were running ready to send his words out live worldwide. With a grace that Keyes had to admire despite the enormous pressure put on him, Thomas Whitmore strode towards the pedestal at the very center of the Hall.

He cleared his throat.

He began: Delegates of the United Nations, members of the Security Council, ladies and gentlemen of the planet Earth and the watching crew members of the _Pillar of Autumn_, welcome. For the past month the United States Government has been hiding a secret…"

**.**

It could have been worse.

The delegates began to stir from their stupefied shock as the full effect of Whitmore's words struck a chord in their minds. Claims of conspiracy and outright lying to the world were directed towards Whitmore who, despite the barrage of frantic shouting, simply took it in. Keyes grimaced as the noise became extreme and soon the shouts became roars. Still, for all that he felt about the United States keeping a lid on the Stargate Program he felt that the people were overreacting. But then again how else would these people react when told about an alien race with technology so advanced that they could wipe man off the surface of the planet from orbit and the only means of stopping them was in the hands of a country that had proven time and again to act brashly and arrogant (depending on your biased point of view).

From the back of the Hall the shock that the human race, that the United States had been contacted by an alien race that had proven themselves to be hostile and had hidden that from the world was still pushing through the dazed minds of many of the many. Reporters, security forces and others were also shocked at this turn of events and unsure what to do although already reporters were beginning to relate the news back to their stations. So far, nothing was going wrong.

Hammond went up and gave a brief description of what Stargate Command was and its mandates. It wasn't anything special, his speech in Keyes opinion, simply following up on what the President had said but going into further detail. In the few days that the SGC had been operational they had lost a startling number of people, half of the deceased coming from the rescue mission to Chulak and then its aftermath. He saw some concern on the faces of the nearest delegates as Hammond spoke about Teal'c, the Jaffa who had not only betrayed his 'God' but helped rescue the team and a dozen humans who had been sentenced to die. The way he put it, Keyes couldn't help but admire what the SGC had done in the few days it had been operational. Maybe he was acting a bit rashly, a bit arrogant.

_Maybe_.

Hammond left the podium, allowing Whitmore to take his place.

Whitmore finished: "Delegates, men and women of the world, you cannot dismiss this as a fairy tale or tall tale. The evidence is standing in front of you and above us – there are aliens and technologies beyond our wildest dreams, technology we can only dream of. We can't force people to believe what they don't want to believe but we cannot allow ourselves to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the threat that is out there and I tell you that there are threats out there. We have a duty to protect the people out there, the people that the Goa'uld had stripped from our planet to work as slaves for them. Not only is it the right thing to do, It is also the human thing to do.

"Thank you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**.**

**1734 Hours, February 21, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / United Nations Security Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters **

**.**

The Norwegian Room was a beautifully designed room. Designed by the Norwegian architech Arnstein Ameberg, the room had been a gift from Norway to the United Nations. A mural hung behind the vaguely u-shaped table, a pair of blood red curtains parted to the side of the marble wall. Depicting a phoenix rising from its own wind-swept ashes, it was a symbol of the world that had survived the travesty of the Second World War, a monument to mankind's perseverance and ability to rebuild despite the terrible toll that the war had taken on the spirit of man and Earth.

Now it represented something else –a world that was on a crossroad that would either lead into a new era of space travel and human expansion beyond Earth's cradle, or lead into a new dark age of… well, no one really considered the second road. This was one of the few times in human history when the leaders, delegates, ambassadors, representatives and what other name you called them could see that there wasn't really another option, that the second road was a figment of their imagination. It was a moment of brief clarity, when the road of mankind's progression wasn't obscured by political infighting, personal ambitions and the need to appeal to their people. This was one of the moments when mankind was at its finest, when they cared about nothing else but progress.

Even so, there was work to be done. While everyone understood what to be done in order to take advantage of the gift that had been deposited in orbit above them, it was another matter to decide how to use to its maximum potential. Inside the Chamber, the leaders of the five most powerful nations on the planet coupled with the elected ten other leaders of the non-permanent members felt the weight of their decision on their shoulders. Actually, only the leaders of the five great powers were assembled in the Chamber – the decision being made was to be by them. Unpopular decision but when backed by a ship in high orbit that, according to the worlds of its Captain could fire a bullet at a fraction the speed of light with pinpoint accuracy from space to ground, there wasn't much room to argue. The UNSC (the fact that the ship in orbit worked for a government called the UNSC wasn't lost on anyone) was charged with maintaining international peace. But today, what they decided wouldn't' just affect the nations and peoples of Earth but instead carry its ramifications throughout the galaxy, to each and every one populated by enslaved humans.

With a slight turn of his head President Whitmore looked into the eyes of each of the various world leaders who were doing the same. Some, rather most of them, gave him a stony look that spoke volumes of betrayal, disgust and anger, emotions that were justified but perhaps fueled by decades of American supremacy and its attitude towards the world as the 'Policeman.' Where the world had suffered during the Second World War, America had prospered and grown to become the sole Superpower, challenged only by Russia and even then, they'd outlasted the old mighty Communist nation which now stricken by roving gangs who bought their way to power and political corruption.

They each knew the topic; you would have to be ignorant to think anything else would be this important. The real problem was getting everyone to agree. The brief moment of clarity had passed by the time everyone focused on the task at hand, and now individual wants and demands began to take hold. "We have the groundwork already laid out," Whitmore began albeit reluctantly. "By giving the Stargate to the… crew of the _Pillar of Autumn _the United States will not hold an advantage over the other nations. They will resume Stargate operations as an international organization with benefits from the program being as equally shared as possible. We all agreed on this last week."

"What about the technology you already acquired from the Stargate?" The President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin demanded. "I find it hard to believe that you would not have brought any technology back from your short control over the device."

"As you said, we only had a short time to use the Stargate," Whitmore rebutted. "At most, all we were able to get from the Stargate were a few staff weapons, nothing else."

President Boris Yeltsin grunted. "Does it really matter? If the Stargate is international organization, then we all benefit. Every nation gets 'staff weapons' and other technology, from both the ship and non-terrestrial." Whitmore smiled at that. At least Yeltsin wasn't going to drag up the past. "We all win in the long run," he added somewhat unnecessarily.

"Only if we do as they demand." Zemin interjected. "They have the ability to do as they please. One hit from orbit and they will be able to cripple any of us. What is to stop them from simply forcing their will on us? You heard the way that the Captain spoke to us, the dismissive and arrogant way he spoke. From the way he spoke, he was putting the crimes of the future on us, blaming us for what happened, the interplanetary wars and Rainforest Wars and whatnot. His 'requests' amounted to a demand that we give up our sovereignty in favor of a one-world government, the 'United Earth Government'."

Whitmore frowned.

"That is true but we have to look from it from his point of view. I'd have to surmise that our century or maybe the next century, we all know it's around the corner, will be the beginning of his past, our future, and it's in that time that all of the discriminations, crimes and differences between us boil over and nearly tear us apart. Yes, they do have that ability. But they haven't. He threatened me with the same threat but he isn't the type of person to do something like that, not when he can make a difference without resorting to violence. Violence is the last thing he wants and it's the last thing we want."

"When you can level a world with a single command," Prime Minister "Sir" John Major added, "what choice is there?"

The decision to create a one world government wasn't one they took lightly. They all valued their independent sovereignty, the right they had to speak for the people. Secretly, they all enjoyed the power they had being the face and voice of their respective countries. There was also the problem of conspiracy nuts and madmen who were using the arrival of the _Pillar of Autumn _to fuel their stories. The phrase 'One World Government' was as well-known and warped as the term 'Illuminate.' The UN was essentially a One World Government but what was being proposed, what was being considered, went beyond bringing all the countries together to work out international issues.

"The fact that he has only _said _he could and hasn't speaks volumes," said Jacques Chirac, the President of the Fifth Republic of France. "How far is this organization from being a single world-spanning government? In the end, the benefits of having a single government in order to further advance our own countries and our race in particular will be a boon. Even more so, he didn't suggest that we give up our governments, he suggested only that we create a _single_ government to represent Earth."

Whitmore perked. "That's true. We only need to establish a representative system. We all continue to run our respective countries, but anything related to space will fall to the collective government. The problem is-"

"Who takes responsibility for the decisions that affects the lives of everyone on the planet?" Sir John Major finished.

Here was something that Keyes hadn't planned for. While he never expected the nations to give up their individual independence, even the UEG of his time wasn't a single entity but a conglomeration of nations united together under a single banner, he had failed to give them the groundwork that had formed his own One-Earth government. What was being created in the Security Chamber wasn't far from what the UEG was but neither was it the same. The two governments came from two different centuries and created by different people with a different way of seeing things. The UEG came during a period when the UN was beings shuffled around, and the newly created UNSC was deploying hundreds of Marines on Mars and the Jovian Moons to stamp down on the terrorist cells. It came from a call for a stronger government, a government that wouldn't step to the side when push came to shove.

The sound of pens and pencils scratching on paper filled everyone's ears as they proposed ideas for the basic framework to take advantage of what they knew and could do. While they were all afraid of what the ship in orbit could do they had reassured themselves that the morals that had kept the nuclear weapons at bay for more than half a century would stop the Captain from using it against his own people, his own planet (despite the massive time difference.) Some leaders pressed for this system to have a strong central system that could make decisions quickly, while other wanted something a bit more relaxed with ultimate decisions being made by the individual nations. Over the next few weeks the group continued to meet in the room and hammer out decisions and compromises.

As the various leaders fought over the specifics, the world continued to move on. World news had focused on the arrival of the ship, on its people and where and why it had come. Interviews were made with the Captain and select crewmen on mankind's potential future where the world learned about the coming wars, from the war on terrorism to the Insurrection. They learned about the breakthroughs in various technological fields that were now being pushed decades earlier. News shifted back to back from the battered warship to the Stargate and interviews with SGC members like General Hammond and various SG Team members began to dominate the news before things began to resume a sense of normality.

While the leaders busied themselves Keyes fulfilled his part of the deal, a deal that he didn't have to make but he did because he felt he _had _to. If mankind was to take the fight to the Goa'uld, if Earth was going to protect itself from the other threats beyond the parasitic snake then they had to have the technology to be able to protect them.

Of course not everyone was happy as the _Autumn _began to slowly give out the technological miracles that had defined the next century and the centuries beyond it. To the various industries and companies, these technological marvels were either a boon or a slap to the face. Plans for cars running solely on either electrical or hydrogen power (or both) frightened oil industries because they would lose profit. What point would there be in using petroleum if vehicles began to run on alternative fuels? On the other hand, medical technology was revolutionized by the release of the plans for the Sterile Field Generator and biofoam. There was more that Keyes released but certain advancements he held back.

Flash Cloning was one as was files on Stem Cell Research. From what Cortana had learned, both of them would garner attention with positive and negative and it was deemed that, at least for the moment, they wouldn't be released to the public. Designs for the iPod' and its successors were leaked out, causing upset by Apple over rights to distribute it and patent it.

But that's something for another time.

**. **

**1628 Hours, March 10, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / United Nations Security Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters **

**. **

Three weeks after the meetings began the group finally believed they had worked out a viable system, or at least a rough start. The new government would be a collective confederation or union that represented nearly every nation on Earth. While every nation was responsible for its own actions and taking care of its own business, they would all be obligated to follow the collective decisions of the confederation (or union). When the time and technology caught up, a volunteer space force would be created to protect not just Earth but also the off-world colonies that would certainly pop up. The various world leaders would each appoint a representative to the confederation (or union) to act as advisors, similar to the United Nations, but a single person would be the elected as the President by the people of Earth.

Some things still needed to be decided, such as a location for the new seat of power, and how the candidate would be selected, but the basic system had been laid down. All in all it didn't please the government leaders (to extent) but also pleased Keyes who had been worried that he would have to act on his threat (not that he would have or wanted to.) He admitted to himself that he had underestimated the people of the time and that carrying a big stick wasn't that entire necessary, not all the time at least. Now, however, the various leaders needed to take the proposed system back to their governments and get it approved by their legislative body their governments had.

On the _Pillar of Autumn_, Keyes smiled.

Striding down the corridors to one of the Hanger Bays, he noted the two platoons of Marines and pair of Warthogs standing guard around the ring. The chevrons began to rotate and the energy released by the forming wormhole lashed out momentarily only to rush back in into a rippling pool-like surface. "Probe showed a breathable atmosphere and the presence of enemy forces," First Lieutenant Melissa McKay said as soon as she saw the Captain.

"How many?"

"A two company's worth at least."

"Do you think you can take them out with just a hundred men?" He inquired.

"If they aren't Covenant, then yes," she responded.

"We tested some of the weapons that the SGC lent us," Oros added, a smirk on his scarred face from where he had been by a plasma weapon. He had been one of the few in his original platoon to have survived the Autumn's brief stay on Reach's surface in repelling the Covenant's brutal attacks and was one of the even fewer to have survived a direct hit in the face from a plasma weapon. He had skin cover his right portion of his mutilated face but he had made it so that you could still tell. "I wasn't impressed. They aren't as strong as Covenant plasma and they're range is no better than a plasma pistol. They aren't any trouble."

He shivered.

He took a step back as Fifteenth and Sixteenth Platoon and four Warthogs rushed through the Stargate to a world beyond UNSC control. As worried as he was, he was fully confident in the abilities of the men and women under his command. All of them had volunteered for the suicide mission to strike at the heart of the Covenant juggernaut, had fought on a dozen battlefields and won battles that had been deemed defeats when the Navy lost in space. They had held on Reach, pushing back the Covenant when they tried to infiltrate the ship and steal its navigation data.

_'Into the jaws of death rode the six hundred_,' he thought as the Stargate snapped off. _'No, its the other way around_.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**.**

**Comments, flames and constructive criticism are all welcome! If you don't like something, have suggestions or other, then say so. **

**.**

**1305 Hours, March 17, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser Pillar of Autumn, in geosynchronous orbit around Earth**

**. **

Captain Keyes looked over the reports for the fifth time and then laid the data pad down on his desk. He sighed deeply and called up a real-time image of Earth on his computer screen. He could see familiar places like France, England and Spain, but they were not the same that he remembered. So many iconic monuments that captured the awe of the people living in the now didn't exist anymore in his time, in his universe. It bothered him and it made his mind hurt. The Interplanetary War had devastated Earth and nearly crippled humanity's space-faring capabilities. The original Insurrectionists (although they were more akin to politically-motivated terrorists) had been relentless in trying to secede from the United Nations. He remembered the classes he had taken in early Earth history and in the military history of modern space faring humanity.

The Rainforest Wars erupted two years after the start of the War, a successor to the Jovian Moons Campaign and the ongoing brushfire wars with the remnants of the Frieden Rebels on the moons. At the time there had only been a few dedicated military ships although they were incredibly low-tech compared to the ships that would be designed in less than a century. It was a time before Titanium-A had been synthesized and so the ships had been vulnerable to micrometeorites and space junk (although they were always a problem even into the 26th century for smaller ships.) They'd been owned by the United States, the European Union (always an issue with them) and China. When the war came to Earth, the Koslovics and Friedens tried to seize the ships but when they failed, turned to the rudimentary defense grid that had been built around Earth. Freighters carrying troops and supplies to colonies in the midst of the fighting and that had been lucky to avoid the war found themselves hijacked and used as suicide missiles. Cold and unfeeling Rods from the same grid that had been built to 'protect' Earth (from what, he wondered,) made their presence known on France, England, Russia, America, China, Brazil, Germany, Egypt, Australia and so many other countries.

While UN forces had triumphed in the Rainforests of South America, the war had broken apart the United States, shattered the European Union and brought further chaos to the African nations. Even China had fallen into disorganization with its own Civil War sparking comparisons to what had happened prior the Second World War there. They hadn't time to even take a breather when the UN deployed more soldiers to the Argyre Planitia on Mars to quell a general uprising by the cluster-colony. By the war's end in 2170, the UN had been firmly replaced by the United Earth Government, the political map on Earth and Mars had been remade and the UNSC had been created but at the cost of the loss of trillions of dollars that had been invested into the defense grid, the satellite grid, space stations and spaceships.

But then Earth lifted itself up and ventured back out, braving the untamed wilderness that was space despite the war had been fought in the void not long ago. He didn't complain – if it wasn't for human determination and fascination with the unknown then he would never had been born nor would the UNSC possibly be ready to deal with the Covenant when they came. He paused at the thought. What was the difference between the United States using the Stargate to explore the galaxy and late 21st century humans pushing out to explore the solar system? Yes there was the time, the government and sheer scale of things but essentially the United States was doing what humanity had done.

With some reluctance, he tapped the browser icon and connected to the 20th century's Internet. Connecting to the Internet was child's play for someone like Cortana and it was a necessity if he wanted to keep himself up to date with what was happening on Earth. There were other ways of getting news across the planet but the Internet was one of the fastest (at least for the time period.) It didn't really strike him that the comforts of the 26th Century were gone until he connected to the Internet to find and so many of things he had taken for granted were now gone.

He closed the browser.

With a sigh he picked up his pad and re-read the report.

Oh look – an update.

The _Pillar of Autumn _was badly bruised – it had taken a beating over Reach, on Reach, fleeing Reach and during their brief clash with the Goa'uld. The MAC had been brought back online and several sections of the outer hull that had been exposed to the vacuum of space had been sealed and reinforced. The Halcyon-class Cruiser was one of the most durable ships ever designed by the UNSC and she was proving her worth to Keyes. The first time he seen the aged Cruiser, he had been distraught by its appearance but upon closer look he had been awed by the sheer amount of firepower that had been tacked on the hull, the new engine pattern and the polished shine of Titanium-A battle plating.

The _Autumn _wouldn't win any beauty contest, especially in her current state but he was certain that she would be able to handle the Goa'uld. She had been redesigned to take on shielded Covenant _Battlecruiser _one-on-one, a feat considering that Covenant Destroyers could make Swiss cheese out of any UNSC ship below a Cruiser. It was a tough ship and he was glad that he had been chosen to command it although their previous mission was null and void.

He rubbed his chin, thinking.

There was the problem of morale though. There were many people who wanted to return to Earth, to see other human beings other than the same old faces they saw everyday. The _Pillar of Autumn _had been running its own Stargate program for the last seven days, keeping it a secret from the rest of the world. Major Silva had voiced his opposition and concern on his decision, a concern that he too shared however he needed his Marines to acclimatize to traveling through the Stargate so when the Program made its 'official' debut, and keep up the image that the people had crafted for the 26th century visitors: the stereotypical no-nonsense military types that had bravely stepped between anarchists (Insurrectionists and the subtle Covenant) and the government. It was an image he did not want to lose because, for the time being anyway, it served them.

"Captain."

"Cortana," he said, not surprised as the AI's face appeared on his monitor. "What is it?"

"Lieutenant Damar has returned."

"He's early," Keyes remarked, his brows furrowing in worry. He doubled checked to make sure but he wasn't wrong. So far during the handful of expeditions Major Silva's Marines had undertaken they had encountered only two Goa'uld strongholds with a light garrison. Jaffa, he noted from the reports his Lieutenants gave him, were akin to Jackals or Grunts. "Did something go wrong?"

"Not at first glance but it wasn't until after the Jaffa and the Goa'uld there were killed did they realize that there was a small problem. There was no Goa'uld on the planet."

"The report stated that there was a minor Goa'uld presence though."

"It was a poser, a man named Pyrus the Godslayer. Apparently he led a rebellion against the Goa'uld who ruled his world and overthrew him. He then assumed the mantle of leadership over his planet and ruled over the people for several centuries."

"Several… _centuries_," Keyes exclaimed, mystified. "He can't… he couldn't be the same man."

"But he was. His daughter, Shyla, she wasn't killed during the skirmish, introduced them to something called a Sarcophagus. From what she told them, it's a Goa'uld device that can not only heal injuries and expand the lifespan of its users, Pyrus _was_ evidence of that, but it can also revive the recently deceased. Shyla apparently died when she was a _century _old but the Sarcophagus revived her."

"That piece of technology can be valuable to us," Keyes muttered. "How many people were killed?"

"Fifty-six pseudo-Jaffa, eighteen non-combatants who were caught in the crossfire and one Goa'uld poser," she rattled off. "Lieutenant Damar saw it fit to revive as many of the non-combatants and pseudo-Jaffa before he returned."

He nodded in approval.

The unofficial ventures that he was sending his people were risky. If the people on Earth learned that he was conducting missions to other worlds behind their backs and had actively engaged the Goa'uld three times on three different worlds then he would lose what support he had amongst the people. He wouldn't be trusted and people would demand change. He didn't have to listen however his crew was still divided over their loyalty to Earth and to the defunct UNSC. As of the moment, Earth had four off world bases, three of which used to be Goa'uld strongholds and another that was being set up on an unclaimed world. While there was always the danger of the Goa'uld occupying different parts of the world reason stood that the Goa'uld would want their slaves staying near the Stargate to better control them.

"There is also another problem."

"Hm?"

"The dialing device we recovered along with the Stargate was inspected by our scientists and they believe that the device is in danger of losing power. They've proposed connecting the device to one of the fusion cores however it isn't certain that the two technologies are compatible. A pair of fusion cores, theoretically enough, should be powerful enough to power the device but I'm not entirely sure. At worst, attempting to do so can blow the _Autumn _in half."

He winced. "Thank you Cortana. What about the project?"

"On schedule. Are you sure this wise Captain?"

"No," Keyes admitted. He wasn't sure of many things anymore but he had taken all of the things that the Universe had thrown at him (so far) as best as he could. He could take comfort that Earth's first contact with alien life was with their alternative future counterparts rather than a Covenant Battleship. He frowned. Then again Earth had made contact with the Goa'uld three years ago but that wasn't in any official records and didn't count, not in his opinion anyway. "But we have to jumpstart Earth's space program," he continued on, "It was one of the promises we made. In exchange for allowing us control of the Stargate we'll give Earth access to the technology needed to begin the colonization of the other planets."

"If you say so, Captain," she sighed.

"You disagree with it Cortana?"

The AI nodded, her body's color shifting to a cool blue. "It's not my place Captain to question your decisions but I do lack some of the bias that you-"Keyes flinched, "-and some other crewmembers might show. I may be an AI but I am a special AI – smarter and more independent than your average Smart AI." Keyes nodded, he had learned about that the moment he had met Cortana. She was unlike any other AI he had ever met before and reminded him of someone although he couldn't put his finger on who. "The promise you made to the people to give them certain technologies has a number of dangerous ramifications."

"I'm well aware of the potential dangers but I'm also thinking about the potential _good _that we can do for the people down there."

"But will they even need to build habitats on Mars or Luna? There are potentially hundreds of worlds that can support human life across the galaxy. Why would they want to go through the struggle of colonizing the solar system and working to make it habitable for them when they can go through the Stargate to a world that can already sustain them?"

She had a point there but Keyes already had an answer.

"Your right – they don't have to but they _want _to. It's part of their culture and was part of our culture. Even when it was disproven that Venus could support life, when it was shown that there weren't any Martians or cities on the Moon, the idea of bringing life to the lifeless worlds in our system will always fascinate us. It's a challenge, and it's a challenge that is now so tantalizingly within their grasp."

Cortana frowned but relented.

**. **

**1712 Hours, March 20, 1997 (Gregorian calendar) / Former SGC Command Facility, beneath NORAD (Cheyenne Mountain)**

**. **

This was the moment.

Standing behind his desk, he stared straight into the metaphorical eyes of his rivals as they surrounded him, trying to flank him and his impenetrable defenses. Brandishing his weapon like a knight would hold his sword he readied himself for the coming battle. He grimaced as he saw his foe mock him with string after strings of numbers that seemed to go on endless, numbers that intermingled with words that sneered at him, waiting for him to make the first – and probably last – move.

His grip on the pen tightened.

He surveyed the dusky room he was in, feeling that the two shelves bursting with misplaced books and files were closing down on him. Tiny figures seemed to watch him from the dark dust-bunny ruled corners of his office just waiting to see what was going to happen. Was his imagination going on overdrive, Colonel O'Neill wondered, taking a deep breath, never taking his eyes off the piles of paper that had seemed to triple since he had joined the Stargate Program (which was quite amazing considering that the problem hadn't been implanted for long before it had been shut down? How the _hell_ did this much paperwork get piled up on his (newly discovered) desk when they hadn't even gone on that many missions before the program had been shut down?) It boggled the mind and made him think, again, about the unfairness of the Universe and considered the unlikely possibility that the Universe was trying to screw him over.

With no great enthusiasm he forced himself against the wall of paper, crashing against the white sheets as he drew his pen against them, slashing against them with quick and brutal strokes. He didn't know how many documents he read or how long he had been going on – in his battle against paperwork time meant nothing as he went against his foe. He knew that some would say he was over exaggerating and they were probably right, he admitted but no one could deny that paperwork was the bane of any worker. He didn't even hear his door open or the sound of shuffling footsteps or the squeaky sound of wheels being rolled in. He didn't notice the shared looks of amusement and confusion as the three former teammates watched their former leader battle the mass of papers.

*Cough*

Another signature… and initials…

*Cough*

What was this? Didn't this belong to Hammond?

*Cough*

Was there someone coughing? Did he dare look around or was he going insane from the lack of action. He missed the sensation of traveling through the Stargate and he imagined just how many worlds existed beyond the Stargate, how many worlds that were waiting to be explored. According to Teal'c, Apophis alone controlled hundreds of worlds and there were supposed to be many more Goa'uld like Zeus, Cronus, Horus, Zipanica, Tameet and others that ruled just as many worlds.

*Cough*

To be honest – signature here – he also missed the other members of SG-1. They hadn't been together long but there was something about all of them that he missed. Carter, Daniel and Teal'c – the best way he could describe what he was feeling was the yearning to be with a family. After Charlie died and his wife left, he hadn't allowed anyone close. It hurt and while Abydos had helped rid him of his suicidal thoughts, he didn't want to have anyone hurt him again.

Now…

"Colonel O'Neill."

"Huh?"

He looked up to see the slightly annoyed but oh-so familiar faces of his teammates. "Oh," he said for lack of anything better to say. He wanted to say something witty, something to express not just his surprise at seeing them (last he heard from Carter was an interview in San Francisco and Daniel had been shipped to Egypt while Teal'c… well Teal'c had been kept on the down-low,) but also his happiness. But all that he could say was: "What are you guys doing here?"

'_Nice one Jack,_' his inner voice said snidely.

'_Shut up._'

"Well we were in the neighborhood and decided to stop in and say hello," Daniel drawled, a hint of amusement at Jack's answer.

"How are you sir?"

"Good, good," he lied. "And what about the three of you? How's publicity treating you?"

When the President decided to disclose the Stargate, everyone and anyone who had worked with in the short-lived secrecy of the Stargate Program had been hustled off into interviews and radio shows. Even family members who had been kept out of the fold were interviewed and there were a lot of legal actions against harassment although the hubbub had died out by now. For a week or two, info on the SGC, its mandates, its people, its purpose and short history had pushed aside the orbiting future warship. There wasn't much that anyone could say because there wasn't much that the SGC had been able to do before Keyes had manhandled the President and the Joint Chiefs to give him control over the Stargate.

He had given a few interviews himself but after then he secluded himself in helping maintain what little as left of the Stargate Program. The empty halls he walked though everyday, the occasional glum look from the people who were helping close shop and the empty rooms that were once sites of blossoming work of studying, inspecting and replicating alien technology and rewriting the history of mankind was a testament to the damage that Keyes had done to the United States.

At least in his mind.

He saw Keyes for what he was and respected Keyes for some of the things he was doing. Keyes was a man out of his element, a man who was cut off from his government without help, who didn't have a clue on what do and without any sort of back up. He was trying to create a government that, if it went well, could challenge the Goa'uld and better protect Earth. According to Keyes, the Insurrectionists had grown to such numbers and earned so much support that more than a hundred colonies in the 'Outer Region' had seceded from the UNSC, the military junta that had been given control of the government to deal with the terrorists. In the 26th century, human was fighting human in a full blow Interstellar Civil War.

But was it the truth? There were hints of something bigger, of something so much more than a simple (or not so simple) Interstellar civil war. Keyes didn't bat an eye at the threat the Goa'uld presented, the first alien race that Keyes should have heard of according to his story. His reaction said a lot and implied that the 'war' that mankind was fighting in the 26th century wasn't a war against other humans, but a war against the Goa'uld… or another alien race.

A war that, if the civil war story has half true, mankind was losing.

"So did you hear the news?"

"Hm? What news?"

"Seriously, you haven't heard?" Daniel said disbelievingly. Even Teal'c with his stoic face, raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He demanded. He extended his arms outwards to show that he didn't have much in the form of keeping up with the news in his office. He hadn't even bothered to watch the news in a while because all that they talked about the SGC, the federalizing of the UN, the _Pillar of Autumn_, with conspiracy nuts going on about the coming of the Antichrist and that the end of time was at hand and that everything that was happening was part of the Illuminati's plan to destroy the world in one fell swoop by usurping the "Kingdom of Man" and destroying God's plan.

There… wasn't any real point in watching the news.

Carter just smiled.

"Don't worry sir. We sort of expected that."

Jack scowled and pretended to be hurt. "You wound me guys. So what'd I miss?"

Daniel didn't say anything but turned on the wheeled television and flipped the channels. There was an uncomfortable silence as the four waited.

"Where'd you-"

"In my office."

"Ah. You still have a-"

"Old, I mean."

"How many extension cables?"

"Five."

"He was quite insistent, Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c said gruffly with a hint of boredom.

Jack snorted.

The channel surfing came to a abrupt end in the middle of a reporter for Fox standing in front of Petersons Air Force Base. Behind her a number of ugly looking gray ships that looked like something out of _Aliens_; "… controversial decision for the United States to hand over control of the Stargate to the people from the future. In exchange for control of the device they promised that they would resume Stargate operations as an _international _program in the near future. Now, Captain Keyes, commanding officer of the _Pillar of Autumn _has announced that preparations have been set for resumptions of the Stargate Program. More than two dozen countries have sent their people to help in overseeing the program as well to ensure that any technology taken from other worlds are shared as evenly as possible.

One of the more controversial actions that our future counterparts have taken is to include all former employees of Stargate Command which was housed under the Cheyenne Mountain Complex," an image of the mountain appeared besides her. "This would leave the United States as having more project members than the other nations however Captain Keyes has defended this that the United States has had more experience with the Stargate."

'_Smart guy,_' Jack thought. "Bad move," muttered.

"Behind me are eight 'Pelicans,' ships that are supposed to carry former SGC employees to the _Pillar of Autumn_…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**.**

**Comments, flames and constructive criticism are all welcome! If you don't like something, have suggestions or other, then say so. **

**.**

**1630 Hours, March 31, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser **_**Pillar of Autumn**_**, in geosynchronous orbit around Earth **

**. **

By the time Keyes strode into the makeshift meeting room, representatives and 'necessary personal' from the twenty three countries that had signed the United Earth Government Charter were already in their seats and waiting. Not for the first time Keyes dreaded his decision to wrestle with the United States government for control of the Stargate and have the _Autumn _contact the planet. At the time it had been a necessity at least that was how he'd viewed it. He still believed it was a necessity, but he had greatly underestimated just how conniving and slick politicians could be. It was why he hated politics. He had also underestimated just how much difference existed between the various nations. He didn't expect every nation to "jump on the bandwagon" as soon as the United Nations started drafting the UEG Charter, but he expected more than thirty. Unfortunately this created even more problems, or would according to Cortana.

The United States, Britain, Russia, China and Brazil were just a few of the countries that had approved and signed the charter. The United States, ironically, had been the third country to sign the charter. The United Kingdom and Germany had been the first two with other countries following suit. But with almost all the current members of the still debated 'United Earth Government' being First World countries, Second and 'Third World' countries were going to, Cortana predicted, protest. According to her scenario, unless these countries approved the charter soon, there would be calls of discrimination, riots and outcry against him. God, he hated politics so much. He wasn't sure if he preferred being at Reach.

"Welcome," the Captain stated to the cluster of scientists, military personal Intelligence agents (he thought of them as 'Spooks' without even realizing it,) and more. "Today is the first meeting of the United Earth Security Council." '_A grandiose name for an organization that isn't even fully united,_' he thought with some resignation. Was he naïve, in thinking that he could re-create the UEG two centuries early? Probably, he admitted to himself. It was impossible in creating a single world wide government without some catastrophe uniting the people against a single an enemy, an enemy to focus all of their hate and anger at. It had worked on Earth with the Interplanetary War and the Rainforest Wars.

It had worked in Star Trek and Babylon 5 with their own respective World War III's. Fiction they maybe, it was shows like that that had helped found the UEG of his time. The lessons they tried to teach, the mistakes that they created and tried to overcome, the myths behind the fictional history of their universes had spoken to a world that was re-creating itself. It seemed, he thought distastefully, that if mankind was ever to actually unite and create a single representative government then they would need to whittle away at themselves to the brink of self-extinction and then rebuild the pieces.

"As you read from my reports, the _Pillar of Autumn _has fought the Goa'uld after her… _transition _into this time period. Based on that brief engagement, at prime condition the _Autumn _can theoretically handle anywhere between seven to twelve Ha'tak's on its own. Unfortunately the ship isn't in her prime condition and can, at best, handle five or so ships. Repairs are already underway to bring all of the ships anti-ship and fighter weapons back to operational status."

"When will these repairs finished?"

"Not anytime soon," he said vaguely. The answer didn't seem to satisfy the Spook but the man kept his mouth shut, at least for the moment.

"At the disposal of the SGC are our complements of Pelican's and Longswords. Both can engage in atmospheric and stellar combat and can be armed with nuclear missiles. Some of the scientists here," he gestured to a group of them, "are working with Cortana to develop a modern equivalent to the Longsword incorporating 26th century knowledge and technology with what pieces of Goa'uld/Jaffa technology that we've recovered from Terella and Miris."

"What if they have shields?"'

"According to the report on the first expedition to Abydos, Ra's ship didn't have shields. At the start of the Insurrection the UNSC was field-testing experimental shields for infantry use. The ships we engaged after our arrival in this time period didn't seem to be equipped with any form of shielding although," he recollected, "their transports did seem to have rudimentary shielding." There was some discontent at that. "But they were weak enough for conventional weapons to destroy without difficulty. On the other hand the Death Gliders on Chulak didn't seem possess shields either."

He was relieved at the fact that the Goa'uld didn't seem to possess as wide a collection of shields like the Covenant had. If they did, he doubted that the _Autumn _would have survived its first engagement with the Goa'uld Mothership's.

"X-wings aren't going to be much against alien mother ships," another commented.

X… right, Star Wars. He remembered.

"Longswords were able to take down a single Goa'uld mother ship with missiles," he countered. Admittedly the ship was already damaged but they didn't need to know that. The new generation of space-capable fighters would combine the best that their little slice of the 26th century could offer with the technology that they had liberated from Terella and Miris.

The meeting went on for two more hours, dragging on as he answered question after question, trying to hold his own against the endless onslaught of curiosity and distrust that the assembled men and women had towards him. Midway through the meeting the scientists left after presenting what they'd learned about how Staff Weapons worked, the metal that the Jaffa's body armor was made out of and the propulsion system of a Death Glider that had been salvaged from Miris. In some ways Keyes envied them, able to return to what they enjoyed the most (dissecting alien technology.)

Then he went into detail on the missions that the SGC were conducting. There had been some concern over his decision (and the decision of several national leaders and Major Silva) to integrate Special Forces units with those of his Marines and ODST's. There had been some ruffled feathers from the soldiers who had been part of the previous SGC, but nothing to cause alarm yet. All in all, it seemed that the two groups were getting along pretty well despite the time difference. There had been the issue of Terella again which he couldn't blame them for being so curious.

It was the only mission that the SGC had conducted composed solely of his Marines. Unofficially the planet was already 'pacified.' Officially, the platoon of Marines sent to the planet was caught by the Goa'uld ruling the planet and the resulting firefight resulted in the downfall of the Goa'uld's power on the planet but also his death with no casualties on the side of the platoon.

An overreaction on the part of his Marines, he told them, but yielded them a number of Staff Weapons, Jaffa armor, and access to Naquadah and, most importantly of all, a Sarcophagus.

As far as the others knew, Terella had been ruled by a Goa'uld until he'd been toppled. No one knew that the man in charge had killed the Goa'uld more than a century ago and ruled over the few hundred or so people on the planet with an iron fist emulating the alien he'd killed. He knew that it was wrong to hide the truth but he wasn't sure who the truth would hurt more.

He wasn't willing to take that chance.

Miris was the second world that the SGC had liberated from the Goa'uld. Three SG-Teams and a platoon of Marines had attacked the Goa'uld stronghold with a pair of Scorpions and several Warthogs. The garrison of Jaffa there didn't stand a chance according to Lieutenant Oros, although he was disappointed in that they had been able to recover only fragments of the three Death Gliders that had been on the planet. From Miris they recovered staff weapons, armor, Naquadah and several Staff Cannons which were, as far as he knew, nothing more than oversized Staff Weapons. As simple as their design was though, they were nothing to laugh at. They'd lost a Warthog to a single hit from a cannon, he'd read.

Right now there were four teams off world. Three were making ties with humans on worlds that the Goa'uld had abandoned. It astounded him that humanity existed on so many worlds and even if they'd been transplanted by the Goa'uld they were still humans. The chances of the human race dying out were extremely impossible. It wasn't like the Human-Covenant War where the human race was facing the very real threat of extinction. He wanted to laugh at the irony of it all.

On the other hand another team was preparing to assault a world that was under the control of a Goa'uld named 'Lord Anataps.' The Goa'uld was nothing more than a servant to an even more powerful Goa'uld named Her'ur, one of the twelve System Lords according to the Teal'c. The System Lords were the Gods of Gods, the strongest of all the Goa'uld lording over hundreds of star systems with hundreds of ships and millions of Jaffa serving them.

Leading the attack would be the unofficial flagship team of the SGC, SG-1.

.

**1710 Hours, March 31, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / Goa'uld Stronghold, Goa'uld Outpost World (Underlord)**

**.**

Populated by only a few hundred humans and a thousand or so Jaffa, Elekba was lightly defended compared to the legendary stronghold that was Lakad forty six light-years away. The only reason that the High Council had deemed it necessary to plant a spy on this world was because of its close proximity to Yu's sphere of influence. Heru'ur and Yu had a treaty of non-aggression and there was a designated 'neutral' zone between the two empires. Being the oldest of the System Lords, Yu's controlled a sizable portion of the far-flung Goa'uld Empire while Heru'ur, by simply being the illegitimate son of Ra, ruled a considerable number of worlds. With Ra's downfall and the increase of violence among the Goa'uld, the Tok'ra deemed it important to watch over the two empires.

Elekba was the only world within a single-lighter of the hypothetical neutral zone; literally straddling the region where Yu and Heru'ur agreed defined the limits of their empires. For as long as Leith could recall, which was a memory of thousand or so years (relatively young,) the two had kept to each side of region, preferring to antagonize other Goa'uld rather than pit the might of the two greatest System Lords against each other. The Tok'ra were content to continue that. There were more than a hundred spies among the ranks of the two System Lords alone with many serving as Underlord's across their respective empires. A war between the two Goa'uld could potentially result in the deaths of many Tok'ra. It was why the Tok'ra were going to great lengths to keep the peace between the two.

It was why she was here.

Rumor had it that the Goa'uld controlling Elekba, Lord Anataps, was secretly raiding Yu's worlds. If he was it wouldn't surprise Leith. Underlord's were just like any other Goa'uld – they envied the power other Goa'uld had, especially the System Lords and aspired to join the ranks of the Master Goa'uld's. That ambition also made predicting the actions of any one Underlord nearly impossible. Unlike the System Lords who were more than happy to throw away the lives of thousands of Jaffa to capture a single city, Underlord's exploited every advantage they had, willing to make compromises and alliances behind the backs of their God if it served them and, in the grand scheme of things, their God. It was how Ba'al, the youngest of the System Lords, was able to ascend the ranks after pitting Ra and Sokar against each other and carving his own empire out of theirs. Ba'al was a devious Goa'uld, even by their despicable standards, and the fact that he combined the arrogance of an elder Goa'uld with the cunning of an Underlord made him a person of concern to the Tok'ra although that thread was neither here nor now.

Striding down the ornate halls that Anataps seemed to favor with images of his many 'victories' over rebellious humans in his little domain etched on the walls, Leith hid her disgust as she saw a ragged looking female human with a dreamy look on her face exit Anataps chamber. She could feel her host 'roll her eyes' at her reaction. Leith sighed, took a deep breath, and walked through the gaping doors. Unlike her Spartan chamber, Anataps chamber was as regal as one expected of a Goa'uld. Taking more than half of the space was a window with golden edges and, etched on its clear s surface, the black symbol of Heru'ur. And with a disappointed look on his face as he slid into his armor was her master in all of his so-called glory.

"_My Lord_," she prostrated herself before him.

She could imagine herself stabbing him in the eye with the knife she carried with her but the dissatisfied look on his face was good enough for her, but just barely. Besides, doing so would go against her mission of finding out if Anataps was indeed ordering raids on Yu's worlds despite the treaty between Heru'ur and Yu. Compared to some of the System Lords Heru'ur was a reasonable Goa'uld and honored treaties he made. If Yu retaliated to the raids then Heru'ur would take it as an offense to his honor. She doubted Anataps would tell Heru'ur that he instigated the war.

So she had to be patience. But that was easier thought than done.

"_What is it Dedra_?" From his tone, Leith surmised with satisfaction, his latest human plaything had not pleased him enough. On the other hand, it was likely that Anataps would have his Jaffa kill the human for dissatisfying him and look for another. She had seen so many humans die that she simply accepted it as a way of life, something that would never change until the Tok'ra took out the System Lords and rooted out every single Underlord at once. It was a work in progress.

"_My Lord, an Al'kesh has arrived and is awaiting permission to disgorge its contents_."

There – a gleam in the Goa'uld's eyes.

"_Excellent work Dedra,_" he said greedily, licking his lips. Dedra, the name she assumed in service to Heru'ur. When she donned the name she changed from Leith, the Tok'ra spy to Dedra, the loyal servant to Lord Anataps and to the great god Heru'ur. She hated the name and everything that it represented – the cruelty and filth that were the Goa'uld. Whatever was on the Al'kesh seemed important to Anataps, and Leith was willing to bet all of the Naquadah she had siphoned from the mines that it had to do with the rumored raids on Yu's territory. She just had to be patient. "_Contact the Al'kesh and have them land._"

"_Yes my Lord_."

She hesitated.

"_Is there more_?" He asked, eyes flashing.

She grimaced - why had she hesitated? Anataps rarely punished the other Goa'uld that served him (not that there were many considering he was only a small-time Underlord,) but there were times when he was more than willing to punish his servants if given cause. It didn't matter if it was stealing or back-stabbing, the end result was never pleasant. And with his sarcophagus, those who earned his ire never wanted to go through the process ever again. She was lucky, at least so far, to have avoided the fate of three Goa'uld sub-servants.

"_The shipment of grains from your farm worlds did not arrive on time. Apparently the Stargate was activated when they were supposed to arrive. I have already sent Jaffa to investigate,_" she added, not wanting to arouse his anger.

"_Why was I not told of this earlier?_"

"_I only learned of it when the shippers arrived, My Lord._"

Before Anataps could retort, his head exploded.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**By popular request, the story has been picked up (with less difficulty than previously imagined.)**

**EDIT: By a lack of my interest and, admittedly overly ambitious attempt at restarting the SG-series from the beginning, this story will likely be discontinued again. At the same time, I am also going to say that there is a chance I MIGHT continue it. **

**.**

**Comments, flames and constructive criticism are all welcome! If you don't like something, have suggestions or other, then say so. **

**.**

**1719 Hours, March 31, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / Goa'uld Stronghold, Goa'uld Outpost World (Underlord)**

**.**

Kal'ah was the First Prime of the Great God Anataps, the commander of Lord Anataps military and overseer of one of the five worlds in his God's domain. He had been in the position of more than twenty years and had foiled more than a dozen attempts on his life by upstart Jaffa who desired his position. For that reason he was proud but he also proud of his intelligence. For unlike the other Jaffa who were content in following the orders of their God to the letter without question, he had the rare gift of free-thinking. It how he was able to kill the previous First Prime and how he was able to maintain his position for so long and he intended on keeping his post for many more years.

When his Lord ordered him to launch raids on Lord Yu's territory and level one of his strongholds despite the godly pact made between his Lord's Master Her'ur and Yu, he had voiced his reservations and instead suggested alternative targets: Lord Yu's human farms. For generations he recalled, Lord Yu and his Underlord's had flaunted the beauty of their human cattle, beauty unfound anywhere else. They were the perfect humans some called them, yet only in appearance. Spreading the heathen God's human wealth, his prized commodity, would not just harm Yu's position but also devalue his prized specimens as well as force Yu to send Jaffa to his human farms and open his strongholds for attack. It was ingenious and it had worked beautifully. Several of Yu's human farms had been razed and more than a thousand of his livestock had been taken, serving now as slaves for Her'ur, his Lord and other Underlord's. The only real threat was if Her'ur discovered where these humans came from – that was something his Lord feared for betraying the will and law of his God, the God above all Gods, the chosen heir of Ra, was a fatal mistake.

But he served Lord Anataps and would do as he said.

To show his devotion, he had the Priests of Her'ur carve the mark of Lord Anataps into his forehead below the Mark of Her'ur and fill it with silver. It was a painful process but in the end it was worth it for whenever a Jaffa saw him they would know he was the First Prime of Lord Anataps and they would fear him. He towered over the other Jaffa, a good head and half above the average Jaffa serving their Lord and unlike the others he honored himself by wearing a cape over his customized armor which had additional sheets of Trinium for better protection. He stood out from the others, and while it made him a much more obvious target it said that he was willing to put himself in danger in service of his God.

In actuality, it made him seem arrogant to the other Jaffa and one unbefitting to serve their Lord although he was blissfully unaware of that fact. Either way…

Now someone threatened his Lord.

Taking position in the center of the straggly line of twenty Jaffa, he kneeled behind an overturned cart and leveled his staff weapon, arming the heavy tool. These attackers assaulted Elekba without honor, striking from the shadows and from afar, not even bothering to show themselves. They fought not like real Jaffa but like the elite Jaffa that protected the High Gods, like the Horus Guards or the Sekhmet Cultists. No matter – there were more than two hundred Jaffa in the stronghold, each willing to give their lives to protect their God. His only concern was that his Lord had not contacted him yet and the alarms hadn't blared to alert the human slaves to take up arms with their masters.

"I see them!" An initiate shouted.

Kal'ah narrowed his eyes and – yes, there, on the roofs. What did they think they could-?

He ducked as a spray of hellfire showered his position.

"Jaffa," he bellowed, "Kree!"

He raised his weapon at the distant figures and fired, knowing full well that they were beyond the effective range of his weapon. He glanced to his right and saw that the initiate was dead, his body riddled with small holes disgorging an ungodly amount of blood. Judging from the amount of fire peppering the attackers, at least several others were dead or wounded.

The engagement was quick, and in only a few minutes Kal'ah knew that unless he wanted to be the only Jaffa left fighting on the streets he had to pull his group back. More than half of their numbers were dead and they weren't doing any harm to the attackers who battered away at them with unnerving accuracy. The weapons that they were using weren't obviously staff weapons nor were they Zat'nik'atel's, but they were just as dangerous perhaps even more so. He called for a strategic regroup only for another Jaffa to crumple to the unpaved streets, leaving him with only four others.

Cowards, he thought furiously, honorless Jaffa!

_Yaaannnggg- Yaaannnggg- Yaaannnggg- Yaaannnggg_….

_Now _the alarms were ringing he thought gruffly, scowling.

"Lord Kal'ah!"

He didn't stop so the newly arrived Jaffa, twenty nine in total with eight humans tallying them were forced to move with him. "What is it?" He answered between huffs, taking a quick peep behind to see if the attackers were pressing on their assault. He could see them, or at least he thought he saw them, but he couldn't be sure. They weren't wearing armor, he could tell that much at least.

"The western gate was overrun," the Jaffa said with a hint of hysterics.

Kal'ah swore.

**.**

**1717 Hours, March 31, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / Goa'uld Stronghold, Goa'uld Outpost World (Underlord)**

**.**

Leith didn't know what was going on as she ran down the gaudy golden plated corridors nor did she know what the loud pops that seemed to fill the corridors were but it didn't take much to connect the pops to the sound of Jaffa dying. Everything started going to Netu not long after she had seen the end of Anataps. She had barely avoided her own death she leapt back for another bullet to hit the body when it leaned forward, the impact spinning it before it fell. She started running then, running for dear life and just a few minutes after she started she heard the exchange of staff weapons and the pitter-patter of pops echo in the corridors telling her that, beyond all odds, the attackers had infiltrated the palace.

It wasn't safe here.

She turned around the corner and stumbled over the body of a fallen Jaffa cursing before she covered her mouth, holding back the vomit at the brains splattered behind the sprawled Jaffa. This wasn't the work of Staff Weapons, she could guess that much. A staff weapon would have burned the head clean off at close range or boiled the flesh off the skeleton from afar. It didn't leave gaping holes at the back of the Jaffa's head. Was it her, or were the loud pops getting closer, getting louder?

Move, Leith urged.

She wretched a Zat'nik'atel from the body and fled.

She had already ruled out the possibility of a System Lord attacking, a System Lord would have bombarded the area from orbit. Wasting Jaffa to take such a small outpost was below the System Lords who had to deal with larger and more fortified targets. That didn't mean that a System Lord didn't under an Underlord to attack in his head but even so most Underlord's would have laid siege to the outpost rather than directly attack it. To further cast doubt on the possibility of an Underlord, it was an unwritten rule amongst them that an Underlord captured was to be ransomed rather than outright killed. The fact that Lord Anataps had been killed right in front of her didn't support that.

The rules could have changed, her host suggested.

Now the sirens began to blare. Too late though.

No, the Underlord's detested change just as much as the System Lords. The Goa'uld, and admittedly the Tok'ra themselves as well much to her chagrin, were not keen on change. The average Tok'ra, without the miraculous effects of the Sarcophagus, lived for a few hundred years. Change meant changing the satus quo – it meant changing thousands of years of Tok'ra history and order. The Tok'ra depended on order; it was instrumental in their operations against the Goa'uld. Where the Goa'uld valued their absolute independence even if it lead to anarchy the Tok'ra valued civilized order where every Tok'ra knew their place in society and what they were entitled to.

"_Jaffa, Kree_!" She hissed, eyes wide in fright as a half dozen Jaffa marched up from the armory their armor hastily put on. Two of them she noted were lacking staff weapons and instead carried a pair of Zat'nik'atel's in their fists with belts full of grenades. They halted in front of her, taking in her disarrayed appearance with distaste, confusion and, to her disgust, lust. Was nothing scared to Jaffa, she thought. She had no time for this; she had to get to the Chappa'ai.

"_What are you _doing?" She snapped, flashing her eyes to show her rage. She felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing the Jaffa flinch and take a few steps back in fear. The innate fears of the Goa'uld were ingrained into the Jaffa mind. They were indoctrinate to obey the will of their Gods and while she detested using it did come in handy at times. "_Defend your Goddess_!"

"Kree," the lead Jaffa bellowed, arming his staff weapon. He waved his arms further down the compound where she had run from and charged in with the others. She felt a pang of sorrow for the Jaffa who were certainly going to be killed but at the same time she needed them to hold off the attackers while she made her to the tunnels and to the Chappa'ai.

Run faster, her host urged.

'_What else am I doing to do_, 'she snapped wanting to roll her eyes.

The alarms wailing mixed with the sounds of voices intermingled with the screeching of staff fire and the unnatural pops of whatever weapons the attackers were using. She passed by more Jaffa and armed humans, gave them brief orders and continued down the dirt streets to the house where the tunnel entrance was. She would have made the tunnels in the palace but it would have been too great of a security risk. Damn it, she should have taken the risk.

There!

She saw Anataps First Prime rally the Jaffa round him, standing out from the rest because of his silly cape as he and his escort of Jaffa fell back towards the palace. It was then she heard the ground rumble before she heard the rumbling itself, and a monstrous hulking _thing _barged through the streets, its long snout erect as it tore through the walls of countless homes without pause. It was colored a drab green and bore numerous plasma scorches on it but something about it made her instincts scream. She could only watch as Kal'ah bellow at his Jaffa and point at the monster, a barrage of plasma striking the hide of the vehicle.

It turned its muzzle towards them and a plume of fire erupted from its snout.

The Jaffa vanished in a ball of fire and rubble.

Run, her host told her, run!

She ran.

Unfortunately she didn't run fast enough. A squat four-wheeled vehicle screeched to a halt in front of her from the intersecting street and a man at the rear of the vehicle turned its four-barreled… staff cannon (the closest comparison she had) towards her. She shivered and backed up, not knowing what to do. "_You dare threaten a God?_" She hissed, hoping that these Jaffa would take her prisoner. There was always the chance she would be able to escape later on.

But these Jaffa weren't like any of the Jaffa in service to the System Lords. They weren't wearing the traditional armor that Jaffa had worn for thousands of years. She could see what passed for armor but it was unlike anything she had seen before. Behind the vehicle came a pair of similarly armored Jaffa each carrying a fairly long-barreled weapon in their hands. It bothered her that she couldn't see the mark that indicated which System Lord or Underlord they served behind those orange visors.

Then a Jaffa came.

In one of their uniforms.

Holding on their weapons.

Bearing the mark of Apophis.

"About time," one of the Jaffa drawled, "What took you so long Teal'c?"

"I encountered heavy resistance," the Jaffa said.

"Where's your 'escort'?"

"I believed they said I was 'released on good behavior'," the Jaffa said much to the humor of the others.

"Well good for you Teal'c," another said.

"What Daniel said," the first one added. She didn't know what to do, what to say. Was Apophis attacking them? But why? Heru'ur and Apophis were in a Cold War yes but by attacking each other not only would it divert vital troops from Heru'ur's front with Cronus but it would bring two mighty empires against each other. The soldier who had spoken removed his helmet revealing another set of black lenses behind the visor.

"Sweet dreams," he said raising a Zat'nik'tel.

She didn't even have to process the phrase.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**Reviews:**

**God of stuff: **A hint lurks in this chapter… and yes, perhaps, but I'm taking a little creative liberty.

**RegBarclay: **You insult me. Not read my own reviews? I depend on your feedback. How else can I get better or get new ideas? Offer me your ideas… give me your SOULS!

**.**

**By the way, have any of you guys seen My Little Pony? What do you guys think? **

**.**

**0755 Hours, April 1, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser **_**Pillar of Autumn**_**, in geosynchronous orbit around Earth **

**.**

Leith wanted to scream.

Her host warned her not to. There was a brief contest of wills, the mind of the ancient Tok'ra battling against the self-preservation nature of her host. To her displeasure (intermingled with pride at the accomplishment,) her host was able to overcome her desire to voice her anger and made her cave in to silent displeasure and defiance. It was a tactic that Leith was well aware of but there were too many things she didn't know, too many things that didn't fit in with standard Goa'uld mold. The cell didn't bear the mark of the ruling Goa'uld and was more luxurious than the average cell with a bed and a glass mirror hanging over a sink that, to her hosts excitement, also poured hot water. Hot water had been a commodity on Elekba, something to be prized and valued even for someone like her who was so high in the ranks of Anatap's council. Here though, the water that had coursed through her grimy hands and hair implied that there were more than ample amounts of hot water, enough to even be wasted on prisoners like her.

Truth be told she didn't even believe that her captors were Goa'uld, not anymore anyway. They were unlike any of the Goa'uld roaming the galaxy be they System Lord of Underlord. There were luxuries and technological achievements that the Goa'uld hadn't yet achieved (or hadn't discovered) and what little she had glimpsed before being knocked out with a dreadful gas revealed to her sizable military force armed with weapons, armor and vehicles that could level any Goa'uld fortress. Great machines with a large turret on treaded rubber parked around the Chappa'ai with bulky Al'kesh-like aircraft and elongated Glider-replicas hanging from the cavernous ceiling of the room.

That didn't help her now though.

Several minutes ago a man had strode into the cell bearing the same type of aura as a Goa'uld interrogator. Her host had panicked – she had heard the unfortunate stories regaled by Tok'ra agents who had escaped after their covers had been blown and they'd been tortured by their captors. They'd been too detailed, almost traumatized by the incidents. She did as best as she could to soothe her host and hoped that the Interrogator would do what he came to do. He waited for one of the Jaffa to bring in a pain stick or even shackles if this Goa'uld had a fetish for horrid tortures. But no, instead he pulled in a plastic chair, sat on it, put on glasses with black lens's and reclined as if waiting.

Did he expect to cave without a fight?

Ha!

She waited, steeling herself for the inevitable torture. Her mind ran through everything that her host had heard, and she waited for him to make his move. Her host was right – screaming would have only weakened her resolve, made her more open to his vicious methods. But what was he waiting for? Time passed by and seconds began to turn into minutes and it didn't help that the time-keeping device hanging above the doorway continuously _tick_-_tocked _monotony, adding to her mind's already distressed state. Now she was worried – why was he waiting? Was he analyzing her, thinking about how he would pry the sacred knowledge that the Tok'ra Council had entrusted with her from her lips?

Her mind was already racing with the possibilities.

There were the Crocodile Shears, the Pain Sticks, the Iron Chair, the Rack, the Foot Press, the God's Daughter, the Pear of Anguish, the Parrilla and _'STOP_!_'_

She froze and her host momentarily gained control. '_Don't… don't do that,_' she whimpered.

Leith panicked – she hadn't meant to hurt her host.

'_Just… don't think about them… please,_' she begged pitifully as Leith resumed control, her eyes flashing a dim gold.

"Hm."

The Tok'ra froze and then looked up. That had been the first sound that the Goa'uld had made – other than his breathing of course.

She steeled her mind. Surely the torture was going to start now.

"What's your name?"

She wasn't going to say-!

What?

He leaned forward, a smile on his face.

"My name is Elias Haverson. What's your name?"

Leith didn't say a thing. What sort of twisted form of torture was this she wondered? She felt like she was talked down to, as if he was a teacher and she was his pupil, his apprentice. This wasn't how she imagined her torture would go (not that she wasn't grateful for the respite) but she wanted to know what was going on. Her host, on the other hand, was grateful that he wasn't doing a thing to their body. He waited and then sighed, leaning back again.

"You aren't like the other Jaffa."

Disgust and anger at the unintended insult swept aside her reasoning. How dare this ingrate compare her to those barbaric slaves? How dare she compare a Tok'ra to one of those hulking, dirty beasts? "**I am not a Jaffa**," she snarled, flaring her eyes as if trying to intimidate her captor. To his credit he didn't flinch like other Jaffa would in the presence of a 'God.' Instead he just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head before a smile hung from the edge of his lips and then expanded to cover his face. "So you aren't a Jaffa but you are a Goa'uld," he said, humored.

Leith cursed.

Now she realized what was happening. She had focused so much on the various forms of _physical _torture she had completely forgotten about_ psychological_ torture. It wasn't a method that the Goa'uld commonly used – it gave them more satisfaction in seeing the victim's body be broken little by little rather than see their mind break under the strain. He was breaking her mind, trying to make her betray her oath to the Tok'ra. But now that she knew his sick and twisted game she wouldn't be so easy to say anything. She would stand strong, an immobile and immutable statue against his twisted mind.

She would persevere.

"You aren't helping yourself by keeping silent," he said after a while. She gave him a curious look with seemed to encourage him. "Your God is dead and so are most of your Jaffa. Now we're interrogating the Jaffa as we, actually as I, speak. They're going to tell us everything that they know about your so-called Gods and your military capabilities. If they do, if they break first, then we aren't going to need you and I can guarantee you that you won't be leaving this place alive."

She continued with her muteness.

He sighed and left, leaving her alone in the not-so barren room. So was the torture over, she wondered with a hint of hopefulness in her eyes. It wasn't so bad, unlike anything that the others had talked about. These non-Goa'uld's weren't experiments on prying information from the lips of their prisoners like the Goa'uld were and she was grateful for that. Her host nagged her thought on helping them, on giving them tidbits of information to save themselves although she argued against it. Any information she gave them could be detrimental to Tok'ra operations across the galaxy and she would become a risk to the Council. Her host knew the risk of becoming a Tok'ra was and she carried the same risk for being a Tok'ra. Her host countered by reminding of what he'd said – "So-called Gods." Clearly he didn't believe in the Goa'uld and if there were more like him then perhaps they could help the Tok'ra and vice versa. The pseudo-Jaffa that had attacked her home had proven themselves to be more than capable of handling the Jaffa with their strange weapons. But then she thought back to the history of the Tok'ra and the last time they'd tried to help a group of humans and rebels that were rebelling against the Goa'uld – a group called the Sodan. The Sodan had abandoned them in their hour of need when they struck against the Fortress World of Ra, a fleet of stolen Ha'tak's against the pride of Ra's military force. More than half of the Tok'ra died in that battle and dozens of Tok'ra bases across the galaxy attacked, looted with countless operations exposed.

It was the one time the Tok'ra broke from their passive aggressive method of war in favor of the Sodan's all-out strike against the Goa'uld.

A disaster.

Her hope plummeted when the man, Haverson, returned with a small tube in his hands. He kneeled before her, and uncorked the tube.

"You chose this," he said, forcing open her mouth without warning and forcing the sloshing liquid down her throat. "Unlike the so-called 'serums' used today," he said as he let her go leaving her hacking and coughing, "25th century Truth serums actually work and it doesn't take long for their effects to take hold." He leaned forward again as her vision became clouded. She tried to fight the liquid, the 'Truth serum' but to her horror she couldn't. She felt something cloud her mind, and she suddenly felt lax as if she had woken up from a long sleep. This wasn't possible; she should be able to fight off the poison! If there was a benefit to being kin to the Goa'uld it was that they too shared the Goa'uld's natural ability to fight off most poisons and hallucinogens. But she couldn't fight this off and it scared her. She couldn't do much of anything anymore, she felt herself be pushed back to the dark recess of her hosts mind, desperately trying to hold on to the few strands she had connecting herself to her hosts mind.

No! This wasn't possible.

"Now, where shall we begin?"

She wanted to scream.

Her mouth didn't move.

"Who are you?"

"I am Leith," she heard her host say softly, devoid of all emotion.

"Not 'we'?"

"We are bonded," her host answered. Leith tried to stop her but she was stuck in the metaphorical corner of her host's mind, unable to do anything but wither way.

"What are you?"

"I am Tok'ra."

**.**

**[Restricted Info] Hours, April 1, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / UNSC Cruiser **_**Pillar of Autumn**_**, in geosynchronous orbit around Earth **

.

At an unspecified time later, Haverson left a broken and dead Tok'ra behind him. Oh he hadn't hurt her but being forced to spill whatever secrets the not-Goa'uld had hidden apparently had been too much for her… it. Oh he wasn't happy that she was dead nor was he happy that the parasite had apparently killed her (the words "don't do it!" coming from the hosts mouth was an obvious sign that the host wasn't trying to commit suicide intentionally.) He especially wasn't happy that the damn parasite had cut their session short before he could really begin questioning her on her presumed organization, the 'Tok'ra.' He had spent too much time beating around the bush, not delving into what he needed to know but this was his first alien interrogation and he wanted to enjoy it.

That's not to say he was heartless though. Interrogating an 8 foot bipedal tailless reptilian with snapping mandibles and howling in an undecipherable guttural language was entirely different from a crying young woman, robes stained with tears as he forced her to tell him everything that she knew. The thing was he knew how to hide his emotions, how to detach himself from his work. It bothered him that someone so young had been forced to commit involuntary suicide by the damn thing inside of her. Given time, he was certain that the parasite could have been removed. The previous SGC had tried to do the same with one of their own although they'd been too late to take the parasite out in time.

She had literally frothed at the mouth halfway into the interrogation, the result of the parasitic snake inside of her trying to reassert its control over the poor girl. He hadn't shown (or hoped he hadn't) his panic at the flash in her eyes when she clamped her mouth shut, a wild look in her eyes. He hadn't expected the Goa'uld to try and resist its effects especially since it had submitted to its effects so easily at the beginning. The Goa'uld didn't remain in the control for long though and he'd continued the interrogation as if they'd never stopped. The frothing should've been the first sign that he had to get to the point. But no, he had barraged her with every question he could think of that didn't involve what he needed to know. It wasn't until the end of the interrogation (the rather abrupt and anti-climactic end) that he demanded to know how powerful were the Goa'uld, who were in the charge, how many were in the galaxy, how powerful were they, how many worlds did they control, how large was their army, how many humans did they control, where was their Homeworld and where the location of the so-called Tok'ra home world was.

At the end though the parasite attempted to end the interrogation and successfully forced herself to take control, cutting the session short although he was reasonably sure that he had learned enough. He removed his shades, smiling wryly at one of the Marines standing guard at the makeshift prison.

"Clean up the mess," he drawled, walking past the disgruntled Marine. He didn't look old enough to have fought during the Insurrection (which was no longer a threat thanks to the relentless Covenant advance) but he could be wrong. Hell, he didn't look that much older than the Marine and he'd spent half of his career in Section III working to subvert the Insurrection and its sister organizations.

Cold Sleep – it screwed up the generations.

There weren't any actual prisons on the ship, and they had to make to do with empty bunks which there were plenty of thanks to the rash of suicides that had plagued the ship after their first encounter with the Goa'uld. He didn't understand why so many people had chosen to kill themselves – the mission that they'd been slated to go on before had been a suicide mission, a mission that they'd all accepted, risks and benefits. There'd always been the chance that they wouldn't have come back. Not long after things settled down and they contacted Earth the number of suicides sharply declined to almost none.

Gah, his mind was wandering off track.

He wasn't entirely sure though if what she'd told him was all true. He found it hard to believe that a race she'd described as 'murderous and ego-centric' (for lack of better terms) could have a sub-species devoted to the destruction of their own kind. It was laughable if he didn't recall the reports about the Rubble, where a colony of Jackals and Grunts had opted to live with humans. He didn't know the full details about the incident except that the Covenant eventually found the cooperative habitats and destroyed it. The Incident had been covered by Section One, all of its files kept secret even from him. Still, there was only a vague resemblance and the Goa'uld were unlike the Covenant save that they were murderous aliens with advanced weapons capable of wiping out Earth.

He strode down the halls of the Cruiser, ignoring the new faces that had become so familiar thanks to the Stargate. People were being shipped to the orbiting Cruiser as technologies (designs taken from the ships computers) were being sent planet side. He knew that Cortana and Keyes were working with several of this Earth's space agencies to begin constructing modified lunar bases and Martian colonies as well as building crude ships capable of defending Earth and its inevitable Interplanetary colonies in the near future. Things were changing so fast, and it worried Haverson. History was full of advanced societies giving technology to their less advanced counterparts only for things to go awry for the lesser society resulting in their destruction. He knew Keyes wouldn't allow that but…

"Ah, Captain."

The gray-haired man turned with a steely look in his eyes. He turned off a pad although Haverson caught a glimpse of the life monitors of two Cryo-tubes. The two ghostly figures on the screen were garbed in dull green armor. He wondered if they were SPARTAN's but, as much as he wanted to think it was so, he knew that the SPARTAN's had either died on Reach or died on the operating table. The Sniper Spartan – that was the only SPARTAN he saw on the ship before they fled Reach and they'd labeled her as dead. The pride and glory of Section III SpecWep Division, the SPARTAN-II's, wiped out in a single battle.

"Lieutenant Haverson." Haverson knew that the Captain didn't like him if only because he worked for, or rather used to work for, the Office of Naval Intelligence. He wasn't surprised though – "Spooks" were generally disliked by almost everyone not part of ONI or its related organizations. "Have you learned anything about our… unusual guest?" He asked in an almost civil tone. Key word was almost.

"Quite a bit," he said a smile on his face. "First, where's the Jaffa?"

"Teal'c? Why?"

"I need him to answer about a group of Goa'uld called the 'Tok'ra'… and a group of Jaffa called the 'Sodan.'"


	16. Beginning Is the End Is The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Stargate.**

**.**

**This will be the LAST and FINAL segment of Consequences of War and, likely, a disappointing one. I was too ambitious as many earlier readers suggested and I never really planned it out (unlike now where I have a clear and sad ending to the story) but don't fear! I will start a new version however I need YOU the reviewers to help me. **

**At the end…**

**.**

**Reviews:**

**JC: What a ironic post! **

**.**

**Comments, flames and constructive criticism are all welcome! If you don't like something, have suggestions or other, then say so.**

**.**

**1055 Hours, April 4, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / Unclaimed world, P3X-774, several thousand light-years from Earth**

**.**

_Carter turned towards him, a look of disbelief on her face. Unlike Daniel or Teal'c, she opted out of the visor add-on. "Are we seriously entertaining the idea of going after Apophis?"_

_Jack nodded._

"_Sir, we're not prepared for an attack! Half the ordnance we're carrying is tranquilizer guns." _

_At this point Daniel intervened. _

"_So we use one of them to knock him out. He'll wake up in a holding cell without his guards, without his technology, and he will have no choice but to tell us everything we want to know about Goa'uld technology, about where Sha're is." Oh boy – he was making this a bit too personal now. Jack understood what Daniel was going through and he wanted Skaara back as much as Daniel did but the thought of having another snakehead in custody was just too good of a chance to pass up. The other Goa'uld had been a gold mine of information and a quarter of the address from the Abydos Cartouches were labeled as worlds of interest not just for potential technology to be 'liberated' from the Goa'uld but also a source of revenue in the form of Naquadah, precious metals and what Teal'c called 'Trinium.' _

_As much as he liked the idea, as much as he'd dreamed of having the bastard in chains since he'd seen the videos of Apophis's first incursion into what used to be the SGC, he had to be a bit realistic. The mission was already screwed up – they couldn't get back home now, after all, they had the problem of how to get back home. Plus, the invisible creature that they were hunting for was gone and he didn't feel like trudging through the forest for it… again. _

"_Can I remind you that we don't know where the Stargate is?"_

_Daniel's determination wavered. _

"_He will have the Goa'uld homing device I spoke of," said Teal'c. _

_Good man!_

"_There you go," Daniel said a smug look on his face. _

_A wry grin graced Jack's lips. "Alright, you know what were up against better then anyone; can we do what Daniel is talking about?" _

_Teal'c tilted his head a bit. "We have the element of surprise, and I have my staff weapon. If we eliminate his personal guards quickly, I believe so…"_

**.**

**1102 Hours, April 4, 1997 (Revised Military Calendar) / Unclaimed world, P3X-774, several thousand light-years from Earth**

**.**

_Jack watched on his HUD as Apophis and his escort of Jaffa paused in the middle of the path, a wary look on the snakehead's face. He wondered if Apophis had somehow seen the miniscule wire-shaped Fiber Optic Probe Jack had snaked over the small clump of rocks he was behind. No, Jack realized, he hadn't. He'd taken the bait – he'd seen the shoe print Daniel had left in the mud. With having to tell them anything the force of twelve Jaffa took their place around their so-called God with their staff weapons at ready, the head of the long weapon glittering as electrical tendrils danced between the four-pronged oval-shaped barrel. He wondered if any of those Jaffa were like Teal'c, unsure about how divine their so-called really was and then wondered how many Jaffa like Teal'c were out there. There were the Sodan but after several ventures to P9G-844, the SGC considered the Sodan to either have died out a while ago or a myth that the resident snakehead had used to try and deceive them. Either way it didn't help them. _

"_Jaffa, Kree!" _

'_Shit!'_

_Apophis's escort turned, arming their staff weapons as they took their place in front of their self-presumed (not to mention delusionary false) god) like good little soldiers. O'Neill took cover reflexively as a wave of golden globs of plasma arced over his head, scorching and splintering the trees behind him. Small shards of wood chips pitter-pattered on his helmet and armor and he heard his heart thump rapidly against his chest at the infallible whine of staff blasts that continued to pound at them relentlessly. He was dazed as he pulled the little cable down, confused as to how Apophis had seen him. He gripped his Assault Rifle, wishing for a moment that he had taken a weapon with a scope. Damn it, he scowled, there weren't supposed to be any Jaffa on the planet, especially not Apophis. Then again the Stargate wasn't also supposed to disappear into midair but it had and they couldn't do a damn thing about it. _

"_Teal'c, Carter," he hissed into his helmet's mike, "go!"_

_Teal'c leapt from his cover; his staff weapon armed as he pressed the top of the long alien weapon against the chest of his target and pressed the weapons trigger. The look on the Jaffa's face wasn't one of pain as two plasma bolts slammed into his body, boiling through his armor and burning through his flesh, it was of surprise. It was the look he carried with to his death as his body slumped sideways to the ground and Carter rose from her hiding place behind a log. Teal'c ducked for cover as two more of Apophis Guards rushed over towards Teal'c's position only to fall to Carter's tranquilizers. The Jaffa staggered with a look of surprise on their faces as they fell to the ground unable to move. _

_The remaining nine Jaffa split into two groups, going after Teal'c and Carter respectively. The two members of SG-1 took cover as a wave of staff blasts arced towards them, burning away at rock and glassing the ground around them. Small fires rose valiantly and then died moments later as staff blasts ignited fallen leaves and grasses. Now Daniel rose from his position behind a thick mess of foliage, one of the Autumn's oversized M6D's in hand. _

_BANG!_

_One Jaffa went down._

_BANG!_

_A head exploded, raining bone and brains on his brotherly Jaffa. _

_BANG!_

_A Jaffa crumpled to the ground, grabbing his leg where the oversized bullet had punched through his Trinium shin guards. Daniel had come a long way – it almost scared Jack at how Daniel had changed since the new guys in charge of the SGC shaped Daniel into something less of a bleeding heart. His eyes drifted to the oversized pistol in his hands. Something as small as a pistol shouldn't have that much firepower, Jack thought as he flicked the safety off and brought his weapon to bear, taking aim at Apophis as his escorts floundered back to their God, taking cover behind rocks and trees. He should probably have dropped his rifle for the one with the tranquilizers but he wanted to make Apophis suffer before they brought him in. Apophis turned to him, a look of indignation on his face mixed in with, to Jack's confusion and ire, peace. _

_The hell? The snakehead was supposed to be wetting his skirt. _

_Fuck it, he didn't care._

'_Bang-Bang-Boom,' he thought._

_He squeezed the trigger. _

_Apophis's hand went to his Kara Kesh. _

_A flash of golden erupted just in front of Apophis as the bullets smashed into something that hadn't been there moments ago. Jack stared in disbelief as a smirk appeared on the so-called God's face before be replace by a nasty look. A shield, Jack thought, the bastard had a shield! This was new and again tilted the balance of power. The new SGC, augmented with the advanced and futuristic technology from the Autumn were more than capable of handling anything the Goa'uld threw at them but if the Goa'uld had personal shields then that changed things. He gritted his teeth and fired again._

_Apophis laugh as the bullets pinged off his shield._

_Fuck!_

"_Jaffa, Kree!"_

_Shit._

_He emptied the clip in the hope (it was faint hope and inside of him he knew that it was a futile gesture but hey, he had to be optimistic,) that at least a few would get past his shield. He ejected the clip, another ready in his gloved palm as he slapped it in with a satisfying __**click**__. His eyes drifted to a sudden motion to the right and saw one of Carter's Jaffa throw his weapon at Apophis who grabbed it in midair, armed it, leveled and fired it in a single fluid motion. _

_Move!_

_He leapt to the side – too late._

_He felt as if the air had been knocked out of him as he crashed to the ground, gasping as his armor took the brunt of the blow, layer after layer of futuristic metal having been burned away in a second. He blinked in confusion and wanted to laugh. Goddamn, he was alive! Hell, if they had this sort of armor when Apophis first attacked, he would already be dead! _

"_Colonel!" _

_Instantly he was brought back to the beginning._

_She screamed._

_He felt cold._

_He turned his head, groggily getting back to his feet, breathing harshly as Daniel took several staff blasts to the chest. He reached for his M6D when he saw Apophis aiming his weapon straight at him, a smile on his face. His eyes flashed and O'Neill flinched. He looked into the vacant expression on Daniels face and then into the pain-stricken face on Carter's. He looked towards Teal'c who was still firing, a grim expression on his face and then his focus flitted down to the staff weapon on his shoulder. _

"_You will die now."_

"_You won't get a whimper from me," O'Neill said, clutching at the area where the staff weapon had struck him. He raised the oversized pistol, flicking off the safety. Hell, if this was SG-1's last stand, if this is where he was going to die, then he'd go out firing in a blaze of self-proclaimed glory. From the look Apophis was giving him, he understood and it made O'Neill hate the snakehead even more. He didn't want respect from a parasitic bastard like him. He doubted he was going to get past that shield but it was going to make him feel a whole lot better in the end. "I'm going with a bang."_

_He fired._

_So did Apophis_.

**.**

**Dissapointing?**

**Angered?**

**Use 'em! **

**Anyway, with my second version I need to know if people would like it at the beginning of the series or somewhere in future seasons, aka post Season 1. Also offer ideas, I can't think of everything and fresh minds like yours are more valuable than mine. **

**Thanks for the reviews and Favored Story Alerts.**

**Its' been a blast. **


End file.
